The Scorpia Ludovica : A Dying Breed
by Jorja Jones
Summary: Reborn is suspicious about a new girl who came to Namimori High and befriends Tsuna and his gang. Honest friend or deceiving foe?
1. Target 01 : The Prediction

DISCLAIMER

**DISCLAIMER**

I do not claim to have created Katekyo Hitman Reborn and its characters.

I do claim to have created my own characters.

* * *

- Target 1 -

The Prediction

* * *

**Italy…**

The dark clouds were illuminated by the bring glow of the full moon. The young man stood by his window. He had a handsome face, with short black hair. But his eyes were menacing and his lips curled into a devious smile.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in…"

A man of the same age walked in, his long brown hair tied up.

"Boss, it has started."

"Ah, let's go Alvise Lombardi."

"Yes, Tiziano Costa, sir."

The two men walked into a room deep under the ground. An old man in white robes stood in the middle of the cold round room. The stone floors were frosty against his bare feet, the soles started to burn. His bald head tilted backwards in an awkward position that it looked as if his neck was broken. The black of his eyes were rolled back that only the whites shone. It was a dark room, and the only source of light was from the lit candles surrounding it.

Tiziano Costa sat in the only chair there was available, facing the old man. There were other men in matching black suits as the two men who had just entered, circling the old man in silence. Alvise took his position standing by Tiziano's right side.

Harsh gurgling sound came from the old man's open mouth. Tiziano fidgeted in his chair as he waited for the next move.

"Vong… Vongola rings…" His voice was deep and hoarse as the old man spoke.

No one spoke. Everybody waited.

"The guardians… K-Kill…"

Suddenly the old was on his knees, sweat laced his face.

"Kills the Vongola guardians…" he continued. His voice less deep now, but he took his air faster. "They will be the reason of your fall."

_**o o o**_

In the corner of a dark room, a teenage girl sat while she hugged her knees. Her grey eyes seemed blank and distant as she rocked herself softly. Her unkempt long black hair was wild around her slim face and her body was full of old, healed scars.

The purposed of the plain grey walls were to minimize any form of comfort or gratification but to her, the dull color was a blessing. It was in these plain walls which surround her that she found her solace. There was nothing in the room except a bed in which she seldom sleeps on, a table and chair. The small room and mediocre furnishing granted no possibility of new imagination to fuel from. But she didn't feel as if she needed imaginations, fantasies or even fake memories. Not when she couldn't even remember the old ones locked up inside her. Whenever she tried to remember something, anything at all, her head would ache. Digging into her own brain proved exhausting but there wasn't much she could do when she's in here.

The only time she was let out from her prison was when she was needed for an errand. And it was only once, and in that one time she had gained a new memory. A new memory that was haunting. The dark circles under her eyes proved that she avoided the nightmare as much as she could.

She blinked, and stood up suddenly. The chain that bounded her leg and the bed chinked. She looked at her heavy anklet and sighed. She picked up a cigarette from her table and lit it up.

Sharply, she inhaled the poison.

"I wonder why they chain me. It's not like I'm going to run away. I don't have any place to go to anyways."

She sat back on the floor, her eyes moved to the matching metal bangle on her wrist.

"Who am I?"

_**o o o**_

"How would you like to proceed, sir?" Alvise asked. They were back in the room, and Tiziano was back to starring at the dark sky. The moon was overpowered by darkness now.

"How else? We kill them and get their rings." Tiziano replied softly, still looking outside.

"I will send out our elite –"

"No."

"No?"

"No. I don't want to take any chances."

"But they have done the job so far," Alvise said.

"Yes. Those we've killed or manipulated to get this far, are easy for our elite. But these new guardians, who are merely teenagers, managed to defeat their own elite assassination squad, the Varia. And I don't want to take any chances; we're going to have to use her."

"Her?!"

"Yes, her."

"But she's only done one job so far!" Alvise protested.

"And I think only she can manage this quickly,"

"If you say so," Alvise sighed. "I'll go get her."

_**o o o**_

"Who am I?" She asked herself out loud.

"You're nothing but a useless cunt…"

"Alvise…" She looked up, to the rows of metal rod that divided her room and the freedom she pretty much don't desire.

Alvise sighed and place his right hand in a black pad fitted near the metal prison door. It beeped and a red laser light scanned his palm. The red light on the black pad turned green and the metal rods began to go up one by one.

"Urgh. Would you look at yourself?" Alvise said, as he entered her area. "The boss wants to see you."

Her eyes grew wide. _Not another errand._ "No."

"No?" Alvise asked, and kicked her without warning.

She winced in pain.

"Yeah. That's what you deserve for being a delinquent."

He grabbed on her ankle and twisted it harshly to reach the similar black pad only this time it fit his thumb perfectly. She growled, her eyes were menacing as she stared at him. Suddenly, she winced in pain, grabbing her wrist where the metal bangle was.

"Hah! Don't think you can do as you wish here!" Alvise sneered as the chain fell off from her ankle.

Her breathing grew hard as the pain from her wrist subside.

"Get up, bitch!" Alvise grinned, as he pulled her up from her hair.

She didn't voice out her pain, instead she reluctantly followed what she was asked to do. Alvise grabbed her arm and pulled her out. All the way to see the boss, she kept her silence. Even if she was in pain as Alvise's grasp was quite strong. Soon, after passing through confusing halls and secret doors, they arrived in the boss' office.

Alvise pushed her in the middle of the room. "Here she is, sir."

"Ah." Tiziano smiled at her. "I have a job for you."

"But, I don't-"

But she didn't get to finish her sentence as Alvise had smacked her head from behind.

"You were saying?" Tiziano smiled still.

"N-Nothing."

"I'm sure you could do your big brother a favor," Tiziano continued. "We may not be real flesh and blood but I have been taking care of you, keeping you alive and with that you owe me your life."

"Y-Yes, sir."

"That's a good girl. Now, you're going to Japan…" Tiziano said as he handed her seven headshot pictures.

She looked at the pictures.

"Get the rings and then kill them."

"How?" She looked up to him.

"Do whatever you must."

**Japan…**

"Reborn!" Sawada Tsunayoshi, a young teenage boy cried out to his home tutor. "There's so much school work to do!"

"You've been training a lot lately, and your school work keeps piling up. You need to balance between training and school," the home tutor replied.

Reborn, an Arcobaleno, is a member of the group of the seven strongest infant. He may still be a toddler but his skills surpass any grown men alive. Dressed in a black suit, he has a yellow pacifier hanging over his neck. A green chameleon sits on his fedora.

"It's your fault that my school work keeps piling up!" Tsuna replied, exasperatedly.

"Don't talk too much!" Reborn jumped up to Tsuna giving him a harsh smack on the head.

"Why… Why is this happening to me…" Tsuna wailed.

"Because you are going to be the tenth boss of the Vongola family," Reborn said matter-of-factly.

"I never agreed to be a mafia!" Tsuna screamed.

"Tenth!"

"Eh? Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna turned his attention to a silver-haired boy, taller than Tsuna himself, standing in his door way. Gokudera Hayato, was the transfer student from Italy. He had a punk style going on with rings and chains decorating him. But despite his looks, he's a very smart student. He is always aspiring to be Tsuna's right hand man.

"Haha! Yo, Tsuna!" A boy even taller than Hayato stood by him in the door. His short black hair was up in a messy spiked up style.

"Yamamoto!"

"Why are you here, baseball idiot?" Hayato growled.

"The kid called me over," Yamamoto Takeshi replied happily. Takeshi is the star athlete of the school and has always been blessed with a cool personality.

"Tsuna-san! Tsuna-kun!"

"H-Haru! K-Kyoko-chan!" Tsuna stammered at the two girls who suddenly appeared in his room.

Miura Haru, a girl with brown hair tied up to a pony tail, stood next to Sasagawa Kyoko, a girl with orange bobbed hair who Tsuna has a crush on.

"W-What are you all doing here?" Tsuna looked at them, confused.

"I called them over," Reborn replied.

"Let's do our school work together, tenth!" Hayato replied with full enthusiasm.

"That's right, Tsuna-kun," Kyoko agreed. "You have been busy with the sumo wrestling event, so we're here to help."

Tsuna stood there, overwhelmed and speechless. _You guys…_

"Come on, Tsuna-san!" Haru said joyfully.

"Let's do our best!" Takeshi chimed in.

_**o o o**_

"Itadakimasu!" Everyone chimed before they dug into their food.

"Thank you for having us!" Kyoko said.

"Oh, it's always a pleasure to have you guys over for dinner," Tsuna's mother, Sawada Nana or better known as Mama, replied with a big smile.

"Lambo! Don't take I-Pin's food!" I-Pin said.

I-Pin is an assassin toddler from Hong Kong who does not understand the Japanese language. Lambo, is a hitman toddler from a different family but has been under Tsuna and Mama's care for quite a while now.

"Lambo! Don't steal other people's food!" Fuuta sighed. Fuuta is a young boy who has ranks people based on their abilities. It is due to this that Fuuta retains enormous amounts of knowledge about everyone. He has been under Tsuna's care ever since other mafia family wants to get a hold of Fuuta's knowledge.

Bianchi, Hayato's half sister, was feeding Reborn.

Tsuna smiled at the whole scene. _It seemed only yesterday that we were fighting for those Vongola rings. I'm glad everything's back to normal. Eh? Godukera-kun seems to be fine… Ah… Bianchi is wearing her goggles to the dinner table today. Weird, but I guess it works fine._

Bianchi is a beautiful young hitman who's famous for her poison cooking. When they were small, Bianchi has always used Hayato as one of her guinea pig for her poison cooking experiments and even now when they're grown up, just looking at her face makes him ill. Only when her face is obstructed by accessories, does Hayato manage to avoid it all.

"Lambo-kun, I-Pin-chan, when you're full, you should go to bed," Mama said. "Lambo should rest up for now, even if you're well."

"Yes, Mama." I-Pin replied.

"Lambo-san will go to bed first!" Lambo said, jumping from his seat and ran outside from the kitchen.

"Lambo!" I-Pin squeaked before chasing after him.

"Oh my," Mama giggled. "Just leave everything, I will clean up."

"We'll help," Kyoko said.

"Yes, Haru will clean up too!" Haru replied.

"Thank you!" Mama smiled.

"I'll help too," Takeshi offered.

"W-What!" Hayato stammered. "I will be the one who get this table clean in no time!"

Everyone helped Mama clean up when everyone's done but by the time, they cleaned everything, it was time for Hayato, Takeshi, Haru and Kyoko to go home.

"Hahi!" Haru panicked. "We enjoyed ourselves too much, we lost track of time to help you Tsuna-san!"

"Oh, we're sorry, Tsuna-kun." Kyoko said.

"It's fine!" Tsuna replied. "I c-can do it by myself." _Uwaa. I'm not going to get any sleep tonight!_

"Sorry, Tsuna, but I got to get back to my old man." Takeshi said apologetically.

"My apologies, tenth!" Hayato said. "I wasn't of much help!"

"Leave it to me! I will help him." Reborn said, assuring Tsuna's friends.

"That's great! We'll see you tomorrow in school then, Tsuna!" Takeshi bid farewell.

"Tenth! I know you can do it!" Hayato said.

"Tsuna-san! Believe in yourself!" Haru added.

"Tsuna-kun, do your best, yea?" Kyoko smiled.

Tsuna smiled. _Yes, everything is back to normal…_

_**o o o**_

Reborn woke up in the middle of night only to see Tsuna had fallen asleep at his study table. He had a sledge hammer in his tiny hands and contemplated on whether he should wake him up or not. But he decided not to. _You have done well…_

So, he decided to get himself something to drink instead, before he continued his sleep. The house was quiet, everyone was fast asleep.

Well, everyone accept, Bianchi. Reborn noticed Bianchi sitting outside on the veranda.

"Bianchi…"

"Reborn…"

"What is it?" Reborn asked.

"I don't know. Something just doesn't feel right…" Bianchi replied. The full moon was shining brightly and the clouds stood still. Bianchi touched her shoulder where a scorpion tattoo was displayed.

**Back in Italy…**

_Japan… I've never been to Japan…_ She thought, feeling both excited and uneasy about the whole thing.

She was now back in the prison cell they call her room, her leg chained back to the bed. She knew what she had to do, but she wasn't content about it at all. But killing people was her job; that is what Tiziano had told her. _If so, why doesn't this feel right? And why can't I remember my past?_

Every time she had the chance to ask, all Tiziano would reply, _"You're a hitman, but why should you remember your past when your future is with me?"_

Then she would remain quiet.

Tiziano knows about her past, she was sure of it. But he has no intention of let her know. The only thing she remembered was waking up in this room and being introduced to her so called savior, Tiziano Costa.

"_Lia. Lia Luigi… That would be your name until the mission is over…"_ Tiziano had said earlier.

Until now, she couldn't even remember her own name. Even when under Tiziano's care, they had never given her a name, until now.

"_You will leave for Japan in a couple of days. I've arranged your legal papers and I'll only send you at the starting point. For there on, you'll have to manage alone; with what you have, you will know what to do." _Tiziano had told her.

"With what I have…"

"_If you screw up, and they don't kill you first - we will kill you. If you succeed, your reward will be your past…"_

She sighed and reluctantly dozed off to sleep.

* * *

**Author's Comment**

Please review and tell me what you think. It would certainly help me with the flow of this story.


	2. Target 02 : The New Girl

DISCLAIMER

**DISCLAIMER**

I do not claim to have created Katekyo Hitman Reborn and its characters.

I do claim to have created my own characters.

* * *

- Target 2 -

The New Girl

* * *

**Japan**

"Hey, Tsu-kun?" Mama called out.

"What is it?" Tsuna answered.

Tsuna was sitting in the living room, enjoying a quite and peaceful night. Seems like all the little kids were already in bed.

"What should I wear to the class visitation tomorrow?" Mama asked, as she held out two outfits, one in purple and the other in pink. "Do you think this suits me?"

"Uh, mom, you don't have to come tomorrow," Tsuna said, sounding a little worried.

"What are you talking about?" Mama asked innocently. "I haven't been able to see you in class for a while now. I'm going even if a storm gets in my way."

_I'm hoping the school would just be blown away by a storm, _Tsuna thought.

"I can't wait! This year's class is Math. Last year it was English right?" Mama added robustly.

_I wish I could forget about last year, _Tsuna sighed.

Last year, Mama had participated in answering Tsuna's question for him. It wasn't something the whole class would want to forget. It was as if they were the joke of the year.

_I don't want to go through something embarrassing like that again!_

"Don't come, mom! Please!" Tsuna pleaded.

"You know, I think the pink one is better. Oh but the purple one seems nice too." Mama said, obviously ignoring his pleas. "Oh my, this is troubling."

_She's ignoring me! Oh how I wish class visitation would just disappear!_

_**o o o**_

The students of class 2-A from Namimori High gathered in their classroom with anticipation as they wait for their parents or guardian to come.

"Jeez! I can't believe my mom came looking like that!" wailed a female classmate. They were all now crowding over the windows, looking down at the elders who had just arrived.

"Haha! My family is away on business, so fortunately, they're not coming!" said another happily.

"Oi, No-Good Tsuna!" two male classmates called out as they approached him.

_Huh?_

"You're going to entertain us this year too, right?" one of them asked.

"Last year was great!" the other one grinned pitilessly. "It was hilarious when you were asked to translate, 'this is a pencil' into English!"

"And you froze up!" the other said. "And said, 'I a-am a p-pencil'. HAHA!"

The two of them went into fits of laughter as they reminisce Tsuna's embarrassing moments between themselves.

"I am a pencil? Haha! Even elementary students know the correct answer!" they said, in between laughter.

Tsuna could feel his face getting red as he watched them mimic what he had done last year. There wasn't much he could do, even if he wanted to. He was called, No-Good Tsuna, in school after all. It's due to his poor grades, bad luck and lack of athleticism that he was deemed useless by his classmates.

"Oie!"

_Huh? That's voice…_

"I won't show mercy to anyone who laughs at the tenth," Hayato said in a menacing yet calm manner.

_Godukera…_

"G-Gokudera-kun!" the two boys stuttered.

"Don't you think you should leave now?" Takeshi asked, with the same menace as Hayato had earlier.

_Yamamoto…_

"W-we were just leaving!" and in a flash the two of them scrambled away.

"Thanks," Tsuna said. "Godukera-kun… Yamamoto…"

"It was nothing," Takeshi smiled.

"NO!" Hayato said suddenly.

"Huh?"

"Let's teach them a lesson!" Hayato said, in between his fingers, dynamite sticks.

Smokin' Bomb Hayata, is Hayato's nickname within the mafia world; and his weapons are dynamites.

"N-No! It's all right!" Tsuna said, trying to calm the fired up boy down.

_**o o o**_

"Come in! Come in! Have a seat, Luigi-san." the principal of Namimori High greeted his guests. The burly principle offered the two seats in-front of his table.

"Thank you," the man said and took a seat. The girl next to him followed suit too.

"Let me say first, that it is an honor that you chose our school for your sister's needs," the principal smiled.

"Namimori High is the best," the young man said, smiling evenly.

"Now, I believe it will be best for her if she went to class 2-B," the principal continued.

"No. I'd rather if she be put in class 2-A," the young man interrupted.

"But with her qualifications-"

"You will put her in 2-A."

"Y-Yes, I will put her in 2-A," the principal said, changing his mind.

"Wonderful, everything is settled then," the young man said as he stood up. "I have to leave now. I am a busy man after all."

Without saying another word, he left.

"Uh, Luigi-san," the principal said in a confused voice. "You should be going to your new class. It should have already started by now, and it maybe sudden but since you came today, you'll have to make do. We're having visitation today, it's were parents visit their children as they study."

The girl nodded.

"Great, I'll introduce you to the class."

_**o o o**_

"Don't worry about the people behind you," the teacher said to the nervous students. "Relax and just do what you would normally do in class. I know I'll make mistakes too, so don't worry about it."

_Thank God. Mom's not here yet. _Tsuna thought as he searched through the crowd of parents standing at the back of the classroom. _I hope she won't show up at all…_

It was as if Tsuna had jinxed it, because a couple of second later, Mama walked in.

"I'm so sorry I'm late," Mama said. "Tsu-kun!" Mama waved.

"Sawada-san, you're tardy," the teacher said to Mama. "As punishment, copy ten pages of 'kanji'."

"Okay!" Mama said cheerfully.

A knock on the door interrupted the class who broke in fits of giggles and laughter.

"Principal?" the teacher said, as the door opened.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, teacher; but I want to introduce class 2-A of their new classmate."

This time the class immediately started talking. "Eh? A new student?"

As the principal walked in to the front, the girl with her head down followed him close.

"Class, this is your new classmate," the principal said with a smile. "Luigi Lia."

Tsuna was suddenly hit with an odd sensation, as she looked into the crowd.

A whistle came from one of the boys and laughter erupted again.

Lia smiled.

She had cleaned up pretty good. She looked pretty with her hair was tied up nicely, and the dark circle under her eyes had gone. Even the grey of her eyes, had the glint of cheerfulness. She even had that elegant air around her.

"OK, class," the principal said before he left. "I'll be leaving Luigi-san's care in your hands."

"Don't worry! I'll keep my eye on her," a boy cried from one of the seats.

"Keep it down! As for now, I think I'll seat Luigi-san next to Gokudera," the teacher said.

"W-WHAT!" Hayato stammered.

"Why do you have a problem with that, Gokudera?"

"Hell yes, I have a -" Hayato started but suddenly stopped. "No, I have no problem having her seat next to me."

Some of the girls started to groan.

Tsuna was surprised with Hayato's sudden change. _Eh? That was quick for Gokudera-kun to change his mind. And what is up with this girl… Something's wrong, yet, I don't know…_

"Alright! Alright! Let's settle down now!" the teacher said.

Hayato growled, he wanted to protest about having the new girl sit next to him, but all of a sudden, he changed his mind reluctantly. _That wasn't what I wanted to say, but why did I say it?_

_**o o o**_

Tsuna sighed. It was lunch break, the parents are gone and he had torn his uniform for the umpteenth time. Reborn was up to his usually tricks again, until he made Tsuna teach the class. The teacher wasn't there because he was attending to Hayato, Bianchi had came as his guardian during the visitation period.

"That was fun!" Takeshi said. "I'd like to have class like that more often!"

"Tsuna-kun! That was fun!" Kyoko agreed.

_Kyoko-chan agreed?_ Tsuna thought. _I wonder how the new girl is taking this. It was an abnormal class after all._

"Tsuna, let's go to the nurse's office and see how Gokudera's doing," Takeshi suggested.

"Y-Yeah…"

Lia looked around at the exhausted people. _This is sure a weird school_, she thought.

"Hi."

"Huh?" Lia turned to see Kyoko standing in-front of her.

"My name is Sasagawa Kyoko and this is my good friend, Kurokawa Hana," Kyoko introduced herself and Hana who was standing next to her.

"Luigi Lia," she said. _Japanese people put their surname before their first name…_

"Luigi-san, do you want to join us for lunch?" Kyoko offered.

"Just call me Lia," she said. "And that would be nice." _She seems to be close with the targets; and the sooner I get close to them, the sooner I get my job done…_

"Tsuna-kun," Kyoko called out. "Lia-san will be joining us, if it's OK with you."

"W-what?" Tsuna said, uncomfortably.

"Now, now. The more, the merrier!" Takeshi said.

"I guess," Tsuna said.

"I'm Yamamoto Takeshi," Takeshi introduced himself.

She bowed her head a little. "Is it OK if I called you, Takeshi?"

"Huh? Nobody's really called me by my first name, except my old man, but sure," Takeshi laughed.

_This boy seems daft, he'll be the easiest._ She thought as she smiled back.

"M-my name is Sawada Tsunayoshi," Tsuna said.

"Nice to meet you, Tsuna," she replied.

"OK. Let's go introduce you to Godukera," Takeshi said, enthusiastically.

The five of them walked the long hall way to the nurse's office with Kyoko giving her a little school tour.

"Gokudera!" Takeshi said, as they reached his bed.

"Sshh," Hana hissed.

"Oh, sorry," Takeshi grinned.

"You're too noisy, baseball idiot!" Hayato grunted.

"How are you feeling, Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked. "And where's mom and the rest?"

"They went home and I'm fine, Tenth!" Hayato replied, suddenly feeling energetic.

"Lia-san, this is Gokudera Hayato," Takeshi introduced.

"W-Why is she here!" Hayato said in a disgusted way, when he had realized her presence.

"Gokudera!" Kyoko gasped. "That's not very nice!"

"As expected from an immature monkey," Haha said, shaking her head.

"Uhm, I'll be waiting outside," Lia said suddenly and walked out.

_That punk is going to be hard, it seems like he saw through me, _she thought as she leaned on the wall.

"Who are you? I've never seen you around." Some had interrupted her thoughts. "And what are you doing loitering around the hall?"

She looked to see who had said that. _Him…_

"I don't like the way you're looking at me," he said. "I will bite you to death!"

_**o o o**_

"Gokudera-kun, you know, you could be a little nicer," Tsuna said quietly.

"T-tenth…"

"Now, now, Godukera. You should apologize," Takeshi suggested.

But before Godukera could reply, a scream came from the outside.

"What's that?" Kyoko said, in a worried voice.

All of them, including Godukera, quickly went outside. The scream apparently came from a group of girls who were cowering at the end of the hallway.

"Hibari-san!" Tsuna shouted.

Hibari Kyoya, the leader of the Discipline Committee, or Prefects, who all happen to be a group of delinquents loyal to Kyoya. Like his subordinates, he too is a violent delinquent who uses his status to harass other students.

She had managed to take one of Kyoya's tonfa from him and was now fighting him steadily. But the moment Tsuna voiced, Lia lost her focus. Kyoya took this opportunity to smash his tonfa in her face, but his attempt was thwarted.

"I'm sorry, Hibari-san," Takeshi said, blocking Kyoya's attack for her. "But I cannot just watch a girl be hurt, if I can help it."

"Ciaossu!" Reborn said, appearing out of nowhere.

Kyoya looked at the kid and smiled as he drew back. He jumped to an open window and left a message before he jumped down. "Scatter away or I'll bite you all to death!"

"Lia-san!" Kyoko ran to her aid as she slumped to the floor clutching her right hand.

"Are you OK?" Both Takeshi and Tsuna asked.

"Ha," Lia forced smiled. "I'm fine."

"Yamamoto!" a girl from the crowd squealed.

"Did you hear what he said?" another girl said dreamily. "It was like in the movies, so romantic!"

Takeshi just grinned at the girls' comments.

"B-but your hand is bleeding," Kyoko cried out.

"Ahaha, I grabbed hold of his tonfa before it hit me earlier on," Lia explained. "And I didn't know there were spikes on it."

"We should get the nurse to look at your hand," Hana said.

"Why get the nurse when I'm here?" a man said, gleefully. "I'm a pro when it comes to every part of a woman's body!"

"Dr. Shamal!"

Dr. Shamal, the current school doctor, is a handsome man but a crazy womanizer who hits on practically every attractive woman he sees. Though often unsuccessful, he is always seen hitting on one woman and then instantly moves on to hit on the next woman that passes by him. Putting aside his normal perverted attitude, Shamal happens to be a notorious assassin called "Trident Shamal", and also a renowned doctor, who refuses to treat men.

"No, I'm fine," Lia insisted.

"Nonsense!" Dr. Shamal said before he swooped Lia into his arms and into the office.

"Dr. Shamal!" Hayato ran after him. "No good, leaving him alone with a girl like that!"

"Eh? Oi, Gokudera!" Takeshi said, and ran after Hayato.

"Kyoko, you and Hana should be in there as well," Reborn said.

"Of-course!" Kyoko said.

Reborn waited for Hana and Kyoko to enter before saying anything.

"Reborn…" Tsuna started.

"I don't know anything yet," Reborn said, shaking his little head. "But I'm going to find out."

**Italy**

Tiziano was back in Italy, and in his study room, his attention to the computer in front of him.

There was a knock on the door. "Tiziano, sir?"

"What is it, Alvise?"

Alvise entered. "I have news."

"The girl?" Tiziano wondered, he took of his glasses and placed it on the table.

"Yes, sir. She's made contact with one of the guardians."

"Really? I'm impressed. And in a day?" Tiziano smiled.

"Yes, sir."

"See? I knew she was the right person for the job."

**Japan**

Lia sat in the dining room of her new house. She had to admit Tiziano had pampered her well; it was far from the usually dull prison room that she usually spent her time in. There was food, entertainment and a room nicely furnished for a girl her age.

She looked at her bandaged hand; she was careless, she had to admit. She was too confident, and he was too strong. And then there was Takeshi who had stepped in to protect her. _Too daft, too nice…_

For her first day out in the open, it was pretty chaotic.

She decided to take a nice night time walk, to explore the area at least before her time runs out. Because, she'll have to acquire the rings soon, and acquiring it soon would be the sooner she finds out about her past.

* * *

**Author's Comment**

Please review and tell me what you think. It would certainly help me with the flow of this story. I know things might not be so exciting now, but I think it will change. Hehe.


	3. Target 03 : A New Friend

DISCLAIMER

**DISCLAIMER**

I do not claim to have created Katekyo Hitman Reborn and its characters.

I do claim to have created my own characters.

* * *

- Target 3 -

A New Friend

* * *

**Japan**

Lia woke up from her sleep, and she was pleasantly surprised that this was her first time in ages since she had slept so well.

"Time for work," she said to herself as she pulled herself out of bed.

For the first time in years, she indulged in the luxuries provided by Tiziano. After being confined for quite a long time, she realized that this is could be heaven.

_The boss is not a bad person, _she thought. _Everybody needs to get brutal in order to survive in the mafia world._

After a nice bath and a good breakfast, she dressed up for the second day of school. There were even clothes ready in the closet for her whenever she needed it.

She spent a long time getting dressed into her school uniform though, as she found it quite hard to do especially when her right hand was unusable at the moment.

Finally, she's had enough about not being able to use her right hand. Gingerly, she opened up the bandage; it was still bleeding, not profusely as before but it's still wet, much to her surprise. She couldn't believe how Kyoya's tonfa could do did this much damage.

She raised her bloody hand in front of her face and continued to stare at it. Five minutes of staring later, she wrapped it up with a new bandage. Satisfied, she picked up her school bag and went to school.

_**o o o**_

Hayato couldn't stop thinking about the new girl, as he walked to school. He had to admit, his first impression was different from what he had saw. He thought, she is one of those girls whose fragile complexion always needed someone dependable to hang on to, but on the contrary, her looks and how she had handled Kyoya were poles apart.

Apart from that, he had to admit he was a bit rude coming on too strong like that.

"I guess the Tenth was right," Hayato said, shaking his head. "I would need to apologize later."

Hayato sure did get his request, for he saw her walking around looking very lost.

"Hey!" Hayato called out.

"Eh?" Lia turned. "Oh, good morning, Gokudera-san."

"Good morning, Luigi-san," Hayato replied as he caught up to her. _I can't believe she remembered my name and I can't believe I remembered hers!_

"Please just call me Lia," she replied with a polite smile. "And can I just call you Hayato? I'm sorry but I'm just not used to the Japanese culture yet."

"Uh, I guess. Anyhow, listen, I wanted to apologize about yesterday," Hayato continued.

"It's fine," Lia said. "You were a lot of help yesterday anyways. If you hadn't stopped Dr. Shamal, I don't know what he would've done." She laughed.

"He's a pervert but he's a good person inside," Hayato said.

"I'm sure."

"Anyway, why are you here?"

"Huh?" _Shit! Did he figure me out?!_

"You look lost," Hayato ventured.

"Oh! Yes, I think I took a wrong turn and ended up here," Lia laughed nervously. _Phew!_

"So you live around here?" Hayato wondered.

"Yes, quite near," Lia nodded. "Just a couple of houses away."

"Oh? Gokudera? Lia-san? Good morning!" Takeshi greeted as he bumped into them.

"Good morning, Takeshi," Lia greeted back.

"What are you doing here, baseball idiot?" Hayato growled.

"I'm on my way to school," Takeshi replied cheerfully. "As usual…"

"Hitting on the new girl, are you?" Takeshi nudged Hayato.

"It's nothing like that you moron!" Hayato growled. "Lia-san was lost, that's all."

Lia laughed sincerely, watching them somehow sparked something inside her.

"Lia-san, how's your hand?" Takeshi asked.

"Its fine," Lia smiled, raising up her hand for Takeshi to see. _This is the best way to go, befriend them and then grab what's concerned. _"By the way, I never did thank you enough for yesterday, Takeshi-san."

"Haha! It was nothing," Takeshi laughed.

Soon, they stopped in front of a house; and as if on cue, Tsuna walked out the front door.

"Good morning, Tenth!" Hayato greeted.

"Yo, Tsuna," Takeshi grinned.

"Oh? Good morning, Gokudera-kun, Yamamoto." Tsuna greeted back.

"Good morning, Tsuna-san," Lia said.

"Uh, we met her on our way," Hayato explained.

"Godukera was hitting on the new girl," Takeshi laughed.

"No, I wasn't, you baseball idiot!"

"Tsuna-san! Good morning!"

Tsune turned to see who else had called out to him. _Haru…_

"Good morning, Haru," Tsuna greeted back.

"Eh? Who's this?" Haru asked, looking at Lia.

"Good morning, my name is Luigi Lia but please, just call me Lia," Lia introduced herself.

"I'm Miura Haru and I'm going to be Tsuna-san's future wife," Haru said in a defensive manner, grabbing Tsuna's arm.

"Haru! Don't say something like that!" Tsuna said, looking around, afraid that Kyoko would be around to hear.

"Haha! Tsuna, you're so popular," Takeshi laughed. "Come on, let's make a move or we'll be late for school…"

_Unfortunately, Haru-san… I might have to take Tsuna-san away from you…_

_**o o o**_

"Did you see her, Bianchi?" Reborn asked as the watched the teenagers from Tsuna's bedroom window. "What do you think?"

"She does resemble her," Bianchi said. "But it's impossible. She's dead."

"What if she's not dead? What if all this while, she wasn't dead at all."

"Impossible," Bianchi said thoughtfully. "But to be sure, there's only one way to find out…"

"Yes," Reborn agreed. "I have asked Iemitsu to check out if anything weird is happening in Italy. He will contact me when he's got the details."

"We have to keep an eye on this girl," Bianchi said. "At least, until we have our answers."

"Yeah…"

**Italy**

"You know what, Alvise?" Tiziano asked his right-hand man.

"What is it, sir?" Alvise asked, looking up from his paper work.

"For her second day, I think she's made a lot of progress," Tiziano said.

"She did? How so, sir?"

"She's befriended most of her targets," Tiziano said simply.

"How is being attached going to work?" Alvise asked, a little confused. "Wouldn't that make the job harder for her?"

"On the contrary, if she does her job right, this would make it a whole lot easier for her," Tiziano said. "You see, befriending them, gets her closer to her targets, making it easier for her to do her job."

"If you say so, sir," Alvise nodded. "But one question, sir; she hasn't contacted us yet. How do you all this?"

"I'm not that daft, Alvise," Tiziano replied curtly. "Of course, I have one of our men to spy on her; just in-case purposes."

**Japan**

"Tenth! Let's have lunch together," Hayato said, the moment the lunch bell rang.

"OK," Tsuna agreed, taking out his lunch.

"Let's have it at the roof," Takeshi suggested.

"Oi! No one invited you, baseball idiot!" Hayato growled.

"Now, now, Gokudera-kun," Tsuna said, trying to calm his friend down. "It'd be nice if we have lunch together, don't you think?"

"If you say so, Tenth," Hayato reluctantly agreed.

"Tsuna-kun," Kyoko called out. "You're having lunch at the roof?"

"Y-Yes," Tsuna stammered. _Wah! Kyoko-chan… Wouldn't it be nice to have lunch with Kyoko-chan…_

"That's great," Kyoko smiled. "I'm going to have my lunch on the roof too."

_Kyoko-chan and me? Are my d-dreams coming true…_

"With Hana of-course," Kyoko added cheerfully.

_Hana? Uwaa…_

"You don't think I'm going to leave Kyoko alone with you," Hana interrupted. "Do you?"

"O-Of course not," Tsuna insisted. _Sigh…_

"I think we should invite, Lia-san too," Kyoko suggested. "Don't you think so, Tsuna-kun?"

"Y-Yeah," Tsuna replied.

"Hey! The Tenth will only have lunch with those he approves," Hayato snarled.

"Huh? Tsuna-kun?" Kyoko looked at him, starring right into his eyes with a confused look.

"Eh? I would be OK if the new girl had lunch with us," Tsuna said. _Gokudera-kun… Please don't get me into silly troubles…_

"Huh? Where did she go?" Hana wondered as she looked around for Lia.

"Where's Yamamoto?" Tsuna asked, looking around. Takeshi had disappeared too.

"Let's forget about them and go straight to the roof or we'll miss our lunch break," Hayato announced. "I'm sure Yamamoto will be there. He might've just gone to the toilet."

"Yeah, maybe, you're right," Tsuna agreed.

The sun warmed the rooftop just nicely, as they got up.

"Wa, this feels nice!" Kyoko said. "Don't you think so Tsuna-kun?"

Tsuna had to admit, the weather was behaving to their favor today. The sun was out but not enough for them to burn under sweltering heat. And there was a cool breeze to counter the warmth of the sun, just perfect.

_**o o o**_

"Hey, Lia-san!"

Lia was on her way to the library when a familiar male voice stopped her.

"Takeshi-san?" Lia said. "Uhm, is something wrong?"

"Haha. No, I saw you left while Tsuna and the rest were talking, so I followed you," Takeshi grinned.

"You followed me?" Lia asked, with disbelief.

"N-No," Takeshi said grinning sheepishly, suddenly realizing how wrong his sentence turned out to be. "The rest wanted to invite you to join us for lunch, but you left before they had a chance to ask."

"I was, uhm, on my way to the library," Lia said, rejecting the offer.

"Really? But the library is the other way," Takeshi said, pointing to the other side.

"Oh." _OK. Now, that's embarrassing!_

"Yeah," Takeshi continued to grin sheepishly.

"I'm new OK. I don't know my way around yet," Lia said defensively.

"Tsuna will give you the ultimate school tour if you have lunch with us," Takeshi offered.

"Alright," Lia sighed. _He's too persistent, and it's hard to ignore his naivety._

So together, they walked to the rooftop in silence.

"Sorry we're late!" Takeshi said once they reached the rooftop.

"Hey, baseball idiot!" Hayato called out "Hitting on the new girl?"

"Haha! Just being friendly, Gokudera," Takeshi laughed as the both of them joined them. "Besides, I told Lia-san here that Tsuna will give her the ultimate school tour if she had lunch with us."

"Are you really going to do that?" Lia asked, staring at Tsuna with a questioning look.

"E-EH?" Tsuna looked at Yamamoto with greatest disbelief.

"How nice of you, Tsuna-kun!" Kyoko said, looking at him with you-are-so-great written all over her face.

"Did somebody say EXTREME?!" a student suddenly leaped in front of them.

"Nobody said anything extreme, turf-head!" Hayato snarled. "Ultimate! The word is ul-ti-mate! And Yamamoto! Don't go making decisions without the Tenth's consent!"

"Big brother!" Kyoko exclaimed.

_The sun guardian…_ _He's Kyoko-san's big brother…_

"Battle of the monkeys," Hana sighed. "Round one."

"What did you say, octopus-head?!"

"Big brother!" Kyoko tried to call out again as he didn't listen the first time she called him.

"What is it, Kyoko?"

"Big brother, this is our new classmate, Lia-san," Kyoko introduced.

"Eh?"

"Hello."

"Sasagawa Ryohei! Leader of the Namimori High Boxing Club!" Ryohei said, introducing himself in his usual extreme way; he was boxing the air in front of him with the utmost energy.

The other laughed and Lia pretend to join in as well. _The only guardians I haven't met are the ones who hold the thunder and mist ring…_

"Ciaossu!"

"Reborn!" Tsuna cried out.

Lia looked at the toddler. "Huh?"

"I'm Tsuna's home tutor, Reborn," Reborn introduced himself, taking his fedora off and bowing slightly and then putting it back on.

"Don't just appear out of nowhere whenever and wherever you please!" Tsuna wailed. "And you are not my home-"

"Shut up, Tsuna!" Reborn glared back. "I'm here to invite all of you to Tsuna's home tonight. Mama's going to cook something special tonight, to celebrate Tsuna's new friend, Lia-san."

"Wah!" Kyoko clapped her hands happily.

"EXTREME!"

"I can't wait, Tsuna!" Takeshi laughed.

_Why am I invited to my own house?_ Tsuna wailed silently.

"Everybody will be there," Reborn said, looking at Lia.

Lia was so sure she saw a sparkle in the toddler's eyes. Immediately, she grew uncomfortable. _Does this baby know what I'm sent here to do?_

"Uhm, I don't think I can-" Lia started to say.

"OH! But you should come," Kyoko insisted. "Tsuna's mom's cooking is the best!"

"I w-will think about it," Lia offered.

Reborn grinned and then walked away.

"Sorry about that," Tsuna started. "Reborn comes on too strong sometimes."

"Haha. It's fine," Lia faked a laugh.

_**o o o**_

Dr. Shamal was in his office, napping in his office chair. He grunted as he woke up suddenly.

"Reborn…" Dr. Shamal said, yawning. "Must you disturb me at this moment? Can't you see I'm busy?"

"Busy with what?" Reborn asked, jumping on his table.

"I busy was dreaming about a pretty little lady going down-" Dr. Shamal stopped in his tracks. "Ahem. Little children should not know about this."

"If you think I'm a kid, you're obviously wrong" Reborn replied.

"You still look like one," Dr. Shamal sighed.

"Enough about that," Reborn said. "Does she have it?"

"Does who have what? Oh! Her…" Dr. Shamal grinned. "Unfortunately for me, you told those kids to come along. So Hayato was ready to blow me up when I wanted to take her clothes off. You would think he'd have the decency to allow me to have a little feel, after all, I wasted my time training him when I could be out there with all the gorgeous women."

Reborn kept quiet.

"Do you really think it's her?" Dr. Shamal asked, his voice now becoming serious.

"I'm not sure, but I need to be."

The two men looked at each other in silence, neither of them knew what to reply.

"Right. I got to go. I persuaded Mama to cook for the kids tonight," Reborn said. "And I'm inviting all of the ring guardians."

"Why?"

"She's Italian, and I'm sure she was sent by someone," Reborn said. "I want to know what she would do or at least, how she'd react."

"Am I invited?" Dr. Shamal asked hopefully.

"Go continue dreaming," Reborn said before disappearing from Dr. Shamal's view.

Dr. Shamal chuckled and in a couple of minutes, he fell back to sleep.

_**o o o**_

"Let's all go together tonight," Takeshi suggested to his friends.

"That would be nice," Kyoko agreed.

"I agree, EXTREME!"

"Hey turf-head! Don't you think you're over using the word 'extreme'?" Hayato asked, in an annoyed manner.

"Who you calling a turf-head, you octopus-head!" Ryohei counter attacked.

Hana and Tsuna sighed. "Here we go again…"

"Um, I'll just meet you guys at Tsuna's house, that is if I'm going," Lia interrupted.

_I'm not going! I'm not going to fall into that little kid's trap. He's up to something, I can tell…_

* * *

**Author's Comment**

Please review and tell me what you think. It would certainly help me with the flow of this story.


	4. Target 04 : Dinner with the Sawadas

**DISCLAIMER**

I do not claim to have created Katekyo Hitman Reborn and its characters.

I do claim to have created my own characters.

* * *

- Target 4 -

Dinner with the Sawadas

* * *

**Japan**

Tsuna dragged himself back home after school. Today was one of the usual days where it was hectic enough to exhaust him to the point where all he wanted to do was lie in bed and sleep like the dead.

"I'm home," Tsuna said wearily, as he entered his house.

Tsuna wanted to cry when he realized the God had insisted that he not have a moment's peace, for immediately, screams of little children echoed throughout the house.

"Lambo and I-Pin," Tsuna sighed as he took off his shoes.

"Welcome home, Tsu-kun!" Mama greeted with a big smile, her head poking out from the kitchen.

"What's with all the noise?" Tsuna asked as he stepped into the kitchen.

"Lambo-san is helping with dinner!" Lambo screamed proudly, running around with a dead fish in his hands.

"Lambo is not helping!" I-Pin said, chasing Lambo around the table.

"Eh? Didn't Reborn tell you?" Mama looked at him quizzically, yet masterfully chopping some onions without looking at it.

"We're gathering your friends for dinner," Bianchi said, popping out of nowhere with a plate some suspicious purple food in her hands.

_Oh yea. That's right. I can't believe I forgot._ Tsuna thought. _Sigh. Another one of Reborn's antics but at least Kyoko-chan will be coming!_ He cheered himself up.

"Uhm, are you helping Mama, Bianchi?" Tsuna asked, afraid of the answer.

"Of-course," Bianchi said, placing the plates on the table.

Immediately, Tsuna's stomach did summersaults. _Why…_

"Why don't you try some?" Bianchi said, spooning some of the purple stuff.

"NO!"

"NO?" Bianchi hissed, her facial expression changed, as she shot Tsuna a dangerous look.

_Uh-oh! Not good. Not good! NOT GOOD! I pissed Bianchi off!_

"I meant, I need to get ready before the rest arrives," Tsuna said and hurriedly scrambled to his room.

_**o o o**_

At home, Lia had just finished having her bath. Wrapped in only a small towel, she picked up the phone and dialed Tiziano's number. It took quite a while before someone answered on the other side.

There was silence. The receiver was picked up on the other side, but no one talked.

"Hello?" Lia said into the mouthpiece.

"Yes?"

"Alvise, is that you?"

"Don't sound authoritative just because you're the boss' trump card," Alvise said rudely on the other line.

"Sorry," Lia began. "I didn't mean-"

"What do you want?"

"Uhm, can I speak to the boss?"

"Whatever it is you can tell me," Alvise said. "I'll let the boss know."

"B-But I just w-wanted-"

"_Alvise, give her a break, OK?"_ Lia could hear Tiziano speaking to Alvise.

"How is it going?" Tiziano asked, as he took the phone from Alvise.

"I haven't gotten the rings yet," Lia said, regretfully.

"Take your time," Tiziano comforted. "But don't take too long."

"And, uhm, there a baby here called Reborn and, uhm, I think he's up to something," Lia consulted.

"Reborn is a member of the Arcobaleno," Tiziano told her. "Only one of the strongest infants alive. Don't underestimate him."

"He's the sky guardian's home tutor," Lia said.

"So the Arcobaleno is his home tutor," Tiziano said, making a mental note to himself rather than replying her.

"And, he's invited me over to the sky guardian's place tonight," Lia added. "I'm not going. It seems suspicious."

"On the contrary, if he's suspicious of you, you should find out why." Tiziano said simply.

Lia was about to respond back when her door bell rang. _My door bell rang? Who could it be?_

"Is that your door?" Tiziano asked out of curiosity.

"Y-Yes," Lia stammered. _Who could it be?_

"Answer it."

"O-OK."

Lia hung the phone conversation up and went to answer the door. Absent mindedly she opened the door wide.

"Hahi!" Haru panicked.

Takeshi, Hayato and Ryohei looked as if they might've fainted; their faces were burning red. Even Kyoko, Hana and Haru turned red. They were silent, they weren't talking but they were certainly starring and that's when she knew what's wrong.

"OH! SHIT!" Lia slammed the door almost immediately. _Oh shit! Oh fuck!_

"EXTREME!"

"BIG BROTHER!" Lia could hear Kyoko gasped.

"Hahi, Lia-san, you're, uhm, not ready yet?" Haru called out.

"Haha." Takeshi could only manage to laugh nervously.

Hayato still could not find his voice.

"Lia-san. We'll wait for you, please be quick," Hana said, quickly composing herself.

"I-I'll be out in a minute!" Lia stammered, running to her room.

As quickly as she could, she put on her underwear and blindly grabbed a black short skirt and a blue long sleeved sweater.

When she got out of the house, they were still there waiting for her. _They sure are a persistent bunch…_

"Yeah, uhm, sorry about that," Lia said, feeling a bit embarrassed, she avoided everybody's eyes.

"Now, now," Takeshi grinned awkwardly.

"It's OK, Lia-san," Kyoko said. "You weren't expecting us anyway. It was our fault to surprise you by picking you up."

"Let's go!" Hayato said, throwing his cigarette but to the ground, finally finding his voice. "We shouldn't make the Tenth wait!"

_**o o o**_

"I'll get the door!" Tsuna shouted as he heard the door bell rang. But Lambo and I-Pin had beat him to it, because by the time he had ran down, the door was open, Lambo was in Haru's arms, I-Pin was in Kyoko's and the rest of his friends stood there waiting.

"Tenth!"

"Yo, Sawada!"

"Yo, Tsuna."

_Wah! Kyoko-chan looks so cute tonight!_

And Tsuna was right. Kyoko looked awfully pretty in a yellow dress with a cute clip in her hair. _Haru looks nice too with pink hoodie and shorts_, Tsuna thought.

"Tsuna-kun?" Kyoko said, looking at him weirdly. "Are you OK?"

"Eh? Hehe! I'm fine!" Tsuna scratched his head as he grinned. "Why do you ask?"

"You have that face like when we went to the zoo, remember? Your eyes were spaced out, your mouth was open and you actually had drool coming out from it." Kyoko said, smiling.

_Uwaa! She just had to say that out loud!_

"Come in guys," Tsuna said, moving out of the way. "Lia-san, looks like you made it."

"I, uh, yea," Lia nodded. She didn't know what to say, she really didn't want to be here at all. And furthermore, something else was bugging her mind. _How did they know where I lived?_

"Oh, you're the new girl in Tsuna's class," Mama said, as she came out from the kitchen.

"Good evening," Lia played along.

"Come, the food's done!" Mama smiled.

Lambo immediately jumped from Haru's embrace.

"HAHA! Lambo will be the first to eat!" Lambo announced, scrambling to the kitchen.

"NO! Lambo! Wait for everybody else!" I-Pin said, jumping down after him.

"Oh my, the children are always so lively," Mama said, following Lambo and I-Pin to the kitchen.

"Ciaossu!" Reborn greeted. "There rest should be here any minute now."

"Eh? The rest? You mean…" Tsuna wondered.

"Hello boss," a girl made her way through the crowd and planted a kiss on Tsuna's cheek.

"Chrome!" Tsuna cried out, his face turning red. _Not in front of Kyoko-chan!_

"Why you-" Hayato growled at the girl.

"Hahi!"

"Uh, where is Ken and Chikusa?" Tsuna asked, changing the subject quickly.

"They don't want to come," Chrome said simply.

"Phew!" Tsuna sound his relief. _The two of them would only mean trouble anyways…_

_The mist guardian…_ Lia said, eyeing her.

"Oh?" Chrome said, looking from Kyoko, Haru, Hana and Lia then back to Tsuna.

_Oh right! They've never really met her_, Tsuna thought.

"Chrome, this is Sasagawa Kyoko, Miura Haru, Kurokawa Hana and Luigi Lia." Tsuna introduced.

"Hello." Kyoko chirped.

"I'm Dukuro Chrome." Chrome said.

"Reborn?" Tsuna asked. "Is, uhm, is Hibari-san coming?"

"No." Reborn said. "He declined the invitation."

_Thank goodness,_ Tsuna sighed.

"You guys," Mama called out. "Lambo's going to finish everything if you don't come quickly."

_**o o o**_

As she watched the rest eat, shared jokes and laughter; something moved inside her. She smiled to herself; she was kind of glad she came. It has been too long, living alone. Too long, living without feeling love or being belonged. Too long, living without friends.

_There's Takeshi who ran to my aid, when we were just acquainted. Hayato who helped with the perverted school doctor. Kyoko who first talked to me. Tsuna who said he'll give me the ultimate school tour…_

She had been deep and lost in her own thoughts that she practically jumped at the sound of an explosion.

And then there, right in front of her eyes, coming out of nowhere, emerging from the pink smoke - the thunder guardian.

"Oh my," the man said in a mesmerizing deep voice. "I was just about to clean my toilet and, poof, here I am."

"WAH!" Hana sighed, love-strucked. "You're here! How? But, who cares!"

"Adult Lambo!" Tsuna cried.

_Adult Lambo? The kid with the cow outfit is the thunder guardian? So that was the fabled ten-year bazooka the boss talked about._

"ROMEO!" Bianchi screamed, taking off her goggles.

Hayato immediately fell on the floor, in obvious pain.

Bianchi has mistaken adult Lambo for an ex-lover who she had a grudge with.

"Gokudera!" Tsuna and Takeshi said in a concerned manner.

"Sorry, young Vongolo," the man said, getting him up. "I'm going to have to take my LEAVE NOW!"

"I'LL SEND YOU BACK TO HELL!" Bianchi threatened, reading two plates full of fatally poisonous purple jelly looking sustance,

"Oh my, oh my!" Mama said, as they all watch Bianchi and Adult Lambo get into a game of tag around the table.

The longer Lia watched, the more her head spin; her vision was blurry and then it went dark.

"Lia-san!"

She had fallen to the floor, joining Hayato. Everybody stopped and even Adult Lambo had gone back to being his kid self.

"Sorry," Lia apologized unreasonably.

She felt someone wrapped their hands around her.

I'm f-fine," Lia said, struggling to get up. "J-Just dizzy."

Eventually she stood but not without the help of Kyoko and Haru who held her, on each side.

"Oh my, oh my!" Mama panicked.

"Get her to the living room," Reborn said.

"N-No," Lia shook her head. "I just want to go back to my place. I just need to sleep it off."

Kyoko and Haru, as if touching something that's burning, released their grip and let her go. She fell to the floor again; she realized it's kind of hard to stand when you're heads spinning.

"Hahi!" Haru panicked.

"Kyoko! Why did you let her go?" Ryohei asked.

"I-I don't know," Kyoko stammered. "I'm so sorry!"

"Don't worry," Lia assured her, finally able to stand up. "Sorry, but I think I have to leave now."

"Can you go home alone like that?" Tsuna asked, concerned.

"Since Gokudera isn't feeling well too and Ryohei came with Kyoko…," Reborn trailed off. "Yamamoto, you send her home."

"OK."

Lia was going to protest but realized that her efforts would only be futile. So, she just nodded.

"Thank you for the lovely dinner," Lia said, smiling weakly to Mama.

"Oh, it's no problem dear," Mama said. "You go home a get a good night's rest now."

"I will…"

**Italy**

The phone rang and Alvise sighed.

"I swear," Alvised cursed. "Can't that bitch do anything without consulting to the boss?"

"Hello?" He growled as he answered it.

"Alvise sir, is the boss in?"

"Oh. It's you. What is it? How's the little bitch doing?" Alvise asked.

"Something is wrong with her," the man on the other side said.

"Something wrong? What do you mean?"

"She fell for a second, just minutes ago," the man reported.

"Fell? What do you mean by fell?" Alvise insisted.

"She looked as if she fainted," the man said in an unsure voice.

"Hold on a minute, I'll get the boss," Alvise said suddenly.

A few seconds later, Tiziano came to the phone.

"What do you mean by she fainted?" Tiziano asked immediately.

"I was spying on her and suddenly she fainted, but she recovered quickly," the man explained.

"Where is she now?"

"On her way back to the house," the man reported, looking at the boy and girl walking down the street.

"Good. NEVER let her out of your sight!"

"I won't."

**Japan**

Takeshi and Lia walked in a slow and silent pace. Takseshi didn't want to intrude and Lia didn't feel like talking about what had happened to a stranger. Well, not too much of a stranger but a stranger nonetheless. _After all, this is just the second day since I've known him. Second day since I've known any of them._

"How are you feeling, Lia-san?" Takeshi asked.

"I'm fine," Lia answered.

It was awkward for her, to have a boy or even anyone she just knew, help her get home. What if they are going to take advantage of the situation? _But he's not the type, from his voice, I can tell… And I should taking advantage of this situation but this head is robbing my energy away._

"Thank you, Takeshi-san," Lia said, as she turned the keys to the house.

"No problem!" Takeshi replied, grinning as usual.

"Good night," Lia said. "And thank you again."

"You get some rest," Takeshi said, waved and then walked away.

Lia sighed as she locked the door and threw herself on the bed. The spinning in her head had settled by now. And without bothering to change, she fell asleep.

_**o o o**_

"Reborn?"

"What is it?" Reborn asked, as he changed into his pink pajama.

"Did you find out anything about Lia-san?" Tsuna asked, getting into his own green pajama.

Dinner had ended soon after Lia and Takeshi left. Ryohei along with Kyoko took Haru and Hana back home and Bianchi took the initiative to send Gokudera back to his place, since he didn't look well too.

"Not yet. Iemitsu hasn't come back to me with news yet," Reborn said, tucking her spiked up black hair in a matching pink night cap.

"Eh? Dad?" Tsuna said. "I thought he's in the hospital."

"Just because he's admitted to the hospital, doesn't mean his work can be put on hold," Reborn said.

"I never thought of that," Tsuna admitted.

"You never thought of anything," Reborn said harshly.

"That's harsh!" Tsuna wailed.

"It's a doggy world out there," Reborn said.

"And what does that have to do with anything!"

"Phi-phiew," Reborn snored cutely in his little hammock, visibly fast asleep.

_He fell asleep already!_

Tsuna lay in bed for a while, thinking of what had just happened during dinner time.

"Why did Kyoko-chan and Haru let her go just like that?" he asked himself. "They wouldn't just drop someone who's ill, even when the person who's ill insisted."

But his concerns soon became history as soon as he fell asleep.

* * *

**Author's Little Rambling**

Haha. Ryohei might've gone OOC for a moment there. Haha. But I think it was a little funny. Hehe. Please review and tell me what you think. It would certainly help me with the flow of this story. Oh and I did a fanart thingy of Yamamoto Takeshi, if you want to check it out, the link is at my homepage. Hehe.


	5. Target 05 : Easy Catch

DISCLAIMER

**DISCLAIMER**

I do not claim to have created Katekyo Hitman Reborn and its characters.

I do claim to have created my own characters and this fanfiction.

* * *

- Target 5 -

Easy Catch

* * *

**Japan**

"Kyoko," Ryohei said quietly. There was no need to speak loudly even for an extreme guy like him. At this time of night, even the tiniest sound from an insect can be heard. Well, if it was flying very close to an ear. Ryohei was walking his sister and her friends home when he decided to ask.

"W-What is it, big brother?" Kyoko replied, turning around to look at him.

Ryohei realized that she seemed distraught. He could tell with just one look at her face or one sound of her voice; he guessed he knew the reason behind it, but he had to ask anyway.

"Kyoko, why did you let Lia-san go?" Ryohei asked.

Immediately, Haru and Kyoko stopped in their tracks.

"I mean it's just not like you to do something like that," Ryohei explained himself. "You wouldn't even drop a baby cat even if it clawed you."

"I didn't mean it!" Kyoko cried, her eyes widened with confusion.

"I didn't mean it too!" Haru said, defending Kyoko and herself.

"It was like, I had to let go," Kyoko struggled to find the right words to clarify herself.

"It was an accident," Haha said supportively, placing a hand on Kyoko's shoulder. "I'm sure you didn't mean it."

"Now now, it's ok," Ryohei said reassuringly. "Let's just get all of you home."

_**o o o**_

When she opened her eyes, it was still dark. She was on her bed, still in her casual clothes. She turned her head to look at the time – five in the morning. She sat up and ran her hand through her long black hair. The band that held it together had fallen off. She remember why she was still in her current attire, she was too exhausted to change.

Her eyes stared blankly across the small room. The feeling she had hours ago, she had felt it before. It usually happened when she tried so much to remember her past. But she wasn't thinking about the past when it happened.

The pain had long gone, so she decided not dwell in it too much. She wanted to go back to sleep but she couldn't. She went to the kitchen to fix herself something warm to drink. With a cup of hot milk tea in her hand, she went at the small backyard.

It was peaceful with chilly air lingering around. She liked it. She sat on the ground and carefully placed the cup on her side. She lit a cigarette and starred at the starless dark sky.

She mind remained blank, her thoughts occupied as she inhaled deeply. It was one of the reasons why she kept this bad habit. Some how, it gave her a sense of tranquility and relaxation. She sat there, sipping and smoking, until she could see a hint of sunshine.

Saturday had officially come. She sighed as she pulled herself up with her empty cup in her hand. Placing it in the kitchen sink, she got ready for her third day on the job.

_**o o o**_

Tsuna was just about to have breakfast when Mama screamed.

"Mom!" Tsuna panicked, running down the stairs. _The sound, came from the living room…_

"Mom!" Tsuna cried, running to the living room. "What's the matter?"

Mama was sitting on the floor, in her hand an old photograph.

"I was cleaning up and I found a photograph I thought I had lost a long time ago," Mama explained, her face flushing red.

"A photo?" Tsuna said, bewildered.

"What kind of photo is it?" Fuuta asked, suddenly popping in with Bianchi.

"Hehe," Mama giggled. "A photograph of our wedding!" She grew even redder.

"You and dad's?" Tsuna said. "Show me! Show me!

"Here," Mama said, placing the photograph in Tsuna's hands.

"EH? In THAT outfit?" Tsuna said, looking at it. Iemitsu, Tsuna's dad, was stand beside the beautiful Mama wearing his orange overalls, his hard hat and his rubber boots.

"He's so cool!" Fuuta said in awe, looking at the photograph too.

"It's splendid," Bianchi agreed.

"H-How?" Tsuna wondered how Bianchi and Fuuta looked at it. "And why is he in that outfit?"

"Well, an emergency job came in for your father on the day of the ceremony," Mama explained. "And I was so worried that he'd be late. He made it just in time, but he looked like that through the whole reception." Mama closed her eyes as she reminisced her romantic moment.

"Lambo-san wants to see too!" Lambo said, appearing suddenly. "Let me see! Let me see!"

Lambo reached for the photograph and tugged at it.

"Lambo!" Tsuna said as he pulled on the photograph too.

"No Lambo!" I-Pin came running after him. "Don't pull!"

And in a split second everything happened. The photograph that Mama had just found tore into pieces. The remains floated to the floor.

"It wasn't Lambo-san's fault!" Lambo said quickly.

"It is your fault!" Tsuna said angrily.

"Mom…" Tsuna said softly. "Sorry…"

"I'm sorry," I-Pin apologized too.

Mama kept quiet for a while as she picked up the torn pieces. Tsuna could tell that she was disappointed, but Mama being Mama, the woman who's always been patient, instead, smiled.

"It's all right," Mama replied. "It wasn't on purpose."

"That's right!" Lambo agreed.

"Don't agree so quickly!" Tsuna protested.

"See? It's just like before," Mama said, holding up the photograph. It did look as it did before, only this time it was held together by cellophane tape.

"Mom…" Tsuna felt sorry for her. _The things she has to put up with…_

"It must be nice," Bianchi sighed dreamily.

"Huh?" Tsuna turned his attention to Bianchi.

"All of a sudden, I want to marry Reborn right now," Bianchi breathed.

_That's right, Bianchi is in love with Reborn_, Tsuna thought. Reborn and Bianchi were supposed to be lovers. Although it was kind of hard for him to believe that a kid and a young adult could be lovers. That was why Bianchi had tried to kill Tsuna in the first place, because Tsuna had purportedly stole Reborn away from her. But her assassination mission had toned down considerably since she has been living under the same roof with Reborn for quite a while now.

Tsuna looked at Bianchi and the sincerity that came from her face.

_**o o o**_

She had her hair pulled back and tied at the left. She was wearing denim shorts and a simple white hoodie complimented with a pair of white sneakers, as she wandered around the neighborhood until she came across a small grocery store. A bell rang when she entered, going straight for closet refrigerator, she picked out a drink and went to the cashier.

"Morning," the man behind it greeted, giving her a friendly smile.

"Morning," Lia smiled back.

"Will this be all miss?" he asked, keying in the price of the drink at the machine.

"Uhm, and a packet of cigarettes please," Lia said, pointing to the shelf behind him.

"So you smoke too?" a familiar male voice behind her asked.

"Hayato-san?" She turned.

"Morning," Hayato said, standing next to her, he place his own drink on the counter.

"Is that all miss?" the cashier asked again.

"Uh, yes," Lia nodded, she paid, took her drink and cigarette, smiled at Hayato and went outside.

She started wondering again.

"Hey, wait up!" Hayato called out, jogging to her.

Obligingly she stopped and waited.

"Where are you going?" Hayato asked, joining her walk.

"Uh, no where in particular," she replied frankly. "Where are you going?"

"I think I'll go see the Tenth," Hayato said, lighting up a cigarette.

Lia looked at him then joined him, lighting her own cigarette.

"I didn't know you smoke," Hayato said, looking back at her.

"Must I tell you, if I do?" Lia retort back.

"I was just asking," Hayato snapped.

"And I was just answering," Lia replied back.

Simultaneously, they laughed.

Soon they stopped at a junction.

"I'm going this way," Hayato said, pointing to his left as he stepped on his cigarette. "Are you sure you don't want to join?"

"Nah, I'm just going to walk around," Lia said, shaking her head.

"OK. See ya later!" Hayato bid farewell.

Lia waved then walked down the other side of the road.

But the peaceful moment did not last long, as she bumped into Kyoko and Haru and the two children that are always together.

"Morning, Lia-san!" Kyoko and Haru greeted, the both of them looking appealing in their sundress.

"Oh, morning," Lia replied smiling.

"Oh Lia-san! We're so sorry about yesterday," Kyoko apologized.

"Huh? Oh!" Lia said, suddenly remembering. "Nah. It's fine!"

"How are you today, Lia-san?" Haru asked.

"I'm feeling OK," Lia grinned.

"Great!" Haru cried out. "Then we can all go and get some cake!"

"Yea! Yea! Cake! Lambo-san wants CAKE!" Lambo said jumping up to Lia.

"Cake?" Lia caught him before he fell back to the ground.

"Lambo! Do not disturb Lia-san!" I-Pin said, jumping on Lia's arms.

"Haha! Its fine," Lia said, to I-Pin.

"Yes! Every once a month Haru and Kyoko-chan will get cake to appreciate ourselves!" Haru said triumphantly. "We deserve some cake!"

As Lia held to two kids, she could see something glitter in Lambo's afro hair. _The ring! A-And he kept it there, like some useless trash…_

She pondered whether she could get away with just plucking it out of his hair. But Lia was sure that the kid would cause a commotion and that just wouldn't do.

"Lia-san, will you join us?" Kyoko smiled.

"Yeah, I guess I will," Lia replied. It would certainly give her sometime to think of a way to get the thunder ring.

The five of them soon entered a cute little cake shop filled with the most beautiful decorated cakes Lia has ever seen.

"Lambo-san wants them all!" Lambo announced, jumping from Lia's embrace.

"Lambo! No! Behave yourself!" I-Pin said jumping down after him.

"Wah! They have something new today!" Kyoko said in awe looking in to the glass covered cake stand.

"Hahi! They have a new angel food cake with frosted strawberries!" Haru drooled, squatting next to Kyoko. "Let's get some for Tsuna-san!"

"And for everybody else too," Kyoko added.

"Lia-san! Lia-san!" Lambo called out to her.

Lia joined him at one end. She looked around and saw that I-Pin had joined Kyoko and Haru at the other.

"I want all of these!" Lambo said, pressing his face against the glass.

"I'll get you anything you want but for something in return," Lia said, smiling sweetly, crouching next to him.

"Heh! Lambo-san can give anything that Lia-san wants!" Lambo boasted emptily.

Lia giggled. "Promise?"

"Yes! Yes! Lambo-san promise!" He said, eagerly jumping up and down.

"I really like the ring that I, uh, saw in your hair," Lia said, registering how weird that sound.

"Eh?" This one?" Lambo said, pulling the particular ring from his hair. "The one Lambo-san got from the rubbish dump?"

"Yes, it is very pretty," Lia said.

"You can have it," Lambo said, pushing it in her hands. "Lambo-san has no need for rubbish. But Lambo-san wants CAKES!"

"Haha!" Lia laughed as she put the ring safely inside her pocket. "OK. But this is a secret between the two of us, OK?"

"Yeap!"

"Lambo! Don't nag Lia-san!" I-Pin said, suddenly appearing between the two of them.

"Its fine I-Pin," Lia smiled, picking the two of them up. "I-Pin can choose any cakes she wants too."

"But I-Pin didn't-" Lambo protested but stopped when Lia shot him with a threatening glare.

"Didn't what?" I-Pin asked, confused; looking from Lambo to Lia and back to Lambo again.

"It's nothing," Lia smiled. "Right, Lambo?"

"Heh! Lambo-san will not share his cakes with you," Lambo said, sticking his tongue out to I-Pin. He had forgotten what he wanted to say, but all that matters now were the cakes.

"I-Pin will get her own cakes!" I-Pin huffed.

"There, there," Lia said, gently putting them on the floor. "The both of you can choose whatever you want."

"How may I help you?" the pretty lady behind the counter asked.

"Uhm, can you please give them anything they want," Lia said, pointing to the giddy Lambo and I-Pin. "And, uhm, can I have two of everything you have?" Lia said as she eyed everything thoughtfully.

"I want the orange one!" Lambo screamed.

"I want the pink one!" I-Pin squealed.

"Hahi! Lia-san! So many?" Haru cried out as she mentally pictured an image of Lia ballooning up with cakes still in her mouth.

"It is appreciation day, isn't it?" Lia said, innocently.

"Eh?" Kyoko and Haru starred at her with disbelief.

"It's for everybody," Lia grinned. "Especially Tsuna's mom, as a token of gratitude."

"Thank goodness," Haru said with relief.

"Let's go to Tsuna-kun's place straight after this," Kyoko suggested.

"Good idea!" Haru agreed.

"OK." Lia nodded.

_**o o o**_

"Hello? Is anybody home?" Haru and Kyoko called out. They were all standing in front of Tsuna's door, in each hand at least a dozen or more cakes.

"Oh, hello girls!" Mama greeted. "Oh my, so many cakes?"

"This is for everybody!" Kyoko said.

"Come in, Tsuna and the others are upstairs," Mama said. "I hope you girls will be staying for lunch?"

"That would be nice!" Haru said, nodding eagerly.

"Lambo-san won't share my cakes with anyone!" Lambo announced.

"Oh," Fuuta said, appearing next to Mama, sounding dejected.

"Don't worry Fuuta, I bought some for you too," Lia said.

"Oh! Thank you Lia-nee!" Fuuta jumped with joy.

"There's enough for everybody!" Haru said merrily.

"Mama! Mama! Lia-san bought these for you!" I-Pin said running with a cake box in her hand.

"Oh my, Lia-san," Mama said. "You shouldn't have. How are you feeling today?"

"I'm fine, thank you," Lia replied. "The cake is my gratitude for having me over for dinner last night. And I'm sorry for causing you any trouble at all."

"Thank you, Lia-san," Mama said, smiling. "Now, why don't you guys go upstairs while I prepare lunch."

"Tsuna-san!" Haru sang, as she swung the door open. Standing next to her was Kyoko and behind them was Lia with Lambo and I-Pin and also Fuuta.

They were all sitting around Tsuna's table apparently arguing about something, but stopped when they showed up.

"Huh? Big brother? You're here?" Kyoko said bewilderedly.

"Kyoko-chan!" Tsuna said surprised, _Wah! She's here!_

"Oi, Kyoko," Ryohei grinned.

"Yo! Are those cakes?" Hayato asked, pointing to the packages in their hands.

"Yeap!" Haru chirped. "Eh? Where's Bianchi-san?"

"I'd rather if she didn't show up at all," Hayato said.

"Hahi! What a mean thing to say!"

"Lia-san, how are you feeling today?" Takeshi asked, acknowledging her existence within the group.

"I'm alright, Takeshi-san," Lia replied.

"Let's have cake," Reborn said.

"OK, Reborn-chan!" Haru and Kyoko were all smiles as they brought out as much cake as they could put on Tsuna's small table.

* * *

**Author's Little Rambling**

I'm on a roll! With my fanart that is. Hehe. Please check that out too! It's at my homepage. OK. Five chapters up. Will have to put this on hold as I need to do my school work too. Hehe. But. Please. Please review and tell me what you think. It would certainly help me with the flow of this story.


	6. Target 06 : The Rumour

**DISCLAIMER**

I do not claim to have created or own Katekyo Hitman Reborn and its characters.

Although, I wished I owned Yamamoto Takeshi. HOTNESS!

I do claim to have created my own characters and this fanfiction.

* * *

- Target 6 -

The Rumour

* * *

**Japan**

Safely within the vicinity of her own temporary home, she sat on her bed and pulled out the ring from her pocket.

"That was pretty easy," she frowned as she eyed the ring. "But the rest wouldn't be…"

Keeping it safely in a box provided earlier by the boss, she walked to telephone. She decided to report her progress to the boss.

"You have news?" the boss said immediately.

"Boss?" She said, a little surprised that he had answered it before Alvise did.

"Well?" Tiziano insisted she get straight down to the point.

"Uhm, I've managed to get the thunder ring-"

"Did you kill him?" Tiziano asked impatiently.

"Uhm, I was just getting to that," she tried to explain.

"You didn't, did you?" Tiziano asked, obviously knowing what her answer was. His voice was calm but somehow it was frightening.

"He was just a kid, sir," she said, barely a whisper.

"I don't fucking care if he's an old man!" Tiziano bellowed.

"I-I'm sorry," she stammered, ready to hang the call up; but she knew that would be a very, very bad idea.

Tiziano sighed. "By the time your job is done, they'd all better be dead. Capisce?"

"Yes sir," she said, composing herself.

With a click, the line went dead. She continued to stare at the set for quite sometime before putting it down. Gathering herself, she decided to have a bath before going to sleep.

The warm water washed all her thoughts away now all she needed was a nice warm drink and the bed. The day had been hectic, she had to confess. From the cake house to Tsuna-san's place; the chaotic lunch and pretty loud people. Everything and every moment were frenzied.

Armed with her drink, she noticed some kind of paper sticking under her door.

"What is it this time," she sighed loudly, shaking her head.

She picked it up and realized it was an envelope. She turned it over to see who it was actually addressed too. There, in bold black letter were her, supposed name and the words 'wedding invitation' printed underneath.

"Wedding invitation?" she whispered with disbelief. "This soon? From who?"

She pulled a white fragranced card from it and there in surrounded by a gold heart, was Reborn and Bianchi's name.

"Eh? A wedding between Reborn, the Arcobaleno kid and Bianchi, the woman with a daunting demeanor?"

Shooing the weird and somewhat surprising news away from her head, she went to bed.

_**o o o**_

Tsuna who was still in his pajamas stood at the front yard, the sun was shining grandly and the weather was complimenting it.

"Wah! Such a nice weather!" Tsuna said, stretching his arms as high as he could.

_Today is Sunday, too! Maybe I should go somewhere!_ Tsuna thought as he went to check the mailbox.

"Eh? What's this?" Tsuna wondered, picking up an envelope that fell on the ground.

"A WEDDING INVITATION?" Tsuna cried out, tearing the outer layer apart.. "From who? From who?"

_Reborn and Bianchi?!_ Tsuna suddenly found it had to swallow. _B-But Reborn is still a baby! I-Is this a joke?_ Tsuna wondered.

"Tsuna-kun!"

_Kyoko-chan!_

"Yo, Tsuna!" Takeshi greeted.

"Tenth! We came to escort you!" Hayato said charmingly.

"Tsuna-kun, let's go to the ceremony hall together!" Kyoko said merrily.

"Huh?" was all that Tsuna could say.

"Why aren't you ready yet?" Hana asked, obviously annoyed.

"W-What do you mean by ceremony-"

"What are you on about, Sawada!" Ryohei growled.

"Reborn-chan and Bianchi-san's wedding ceremony hall!" Haru said, filling in the gaps for Tsuna.

"Even thought she's THAT kind of sister, I still need to be sincerely happy for her," Hayato said, in a tone of voice that's neither joyously happy nor uninterested.

"T-Then this is real?" Tsuna screamed, registering the truth.

"You're not the only one surprised," Lia muttered silently.

Yes. She was dragged along as well; the way they wanted to escort Tsuna was the same way they had ambushed her earlier this morning. It was a good thing for them that she had already taken her bath when they arrived, at least they didn't have to wait too long. She didn't want to go at first, but with them coming all the way just to go together made her reluctantly change her mind. It wasn't like she had a different choice.

And to make matters worst, there was only one dress that was appropriate for occasion. It looked almost similar to Haru's dress only without a big bow on the chest and in orange instead of green. Kyoko looked sweet in pink spaghetti dress while Hana looked very mature in a strapless blue gown. And the boys looked rather dashing in their black suits.

_**o o o**_

They were all crowding in a small room provided by the church. And there she was - the bride, a vision of beauty.

"So beautiful!" Haru said breathlessly.

"It really is wonderful," Kyoko said in awe.

"The beauty of an adult woman," Hana sighed happily.

The four of them were standing right in front of her and Lia had to admit, she looked gorgeous. Even Tsuna was entranced by Bianchi's beauty.

"She is seriously beautiful," Tsuna said.

"Thank you," Bianchi smiled. "I've always wanted to be a June bride."

"A June bride? That is so nice!" Haru cried.

"I'd like to be a June bride too!" Kyoko said dreamily.

"A June bride gets married in June!" Tsuna pointed out. "And it's not June!"

"It's fine," Hana snapped. "When an adult woman gets married, it is always June." Hana added matter-of-factly.

"That right!" Kyoko and Haru agreed.

"It's like how I'm always extreme!" Ryohei butted in.

"Don't make the two seem similar, turf-head!" Hayato shouted.

"What did you say, octopus-head!"

"Come on, you two. We should be celebrating today, not fighting," Tsuna said desperately. "Wait a minute. Gokudera? You're not fainting even with Bianchi here."

"Yeap! With these sunglasses! I can't see at all!" Hayato replied smugly, but in the direction of Takeshi.

"Uh, Tsuna's over there, Gokudera," Takeshi said pointing at Tsuna.

_He really can't see at all!_ Tsuna thought with disbelief. _Wait a minute… I've seen this wedding dress before…_

"That's right," Mama said, entering the room. "I lent Bianchi-san my wedding dress."

"You saved it?" Tsuna asked.

"Of course!" Mama chirped. "I'm saving it for your bride!"

_M-My bride?!_

"That wedding dressed if beautiful!" Kyoko breathed. "I'd like to try it on too!"

_Kyoko-chan… Kyoko-chan wearing this dress would only mean… She'll marry… M-M-Me?_

_**o o o**_

They were now at the reception hall, seated in a table with Kyoko, her brother, Haru and Hana; they watched as Takeshi and his old man gave them an amazing feat as entertainment. Lia didn't know if it was for entertainment or if it was customary of guest to perform an act for the newlyweds.

It was a weird wedding reception, for her. First there would be Reborn acting all weird and then there would be an angry Bianchi ready to kill, and then there'd be Tsuna and the blonde guy who'd come in and save the situation; and it went on like a cycle - weirdness, anger and savior.

It was finally the candle lighting procedure, where the newlyweds lights a candle on every guest's table. But the weirdness came again, even before one called was even lit. This time, Bianchi has had enough of the weirdness herself and took matters in too her own hands. Bianchi's wrath grew at a rather swift pace. Everything that surrounded her turned dark and purple.

Lia's head started to spin again; she grasped the table as she tried to remain control of herself. Her visions started to blur again. It was like the time, with the dinner at Tsuna's house. She laid her head on the table, and thanked God that the rest were busy being fascinated with Bianchi's performance.

"Hold it!" Reborn cried out, halting everyone in their tracks, even Bianchi.

"Reborn!"

"Hold it!" said another Reborn entering the hall.

"Huh? Two Reborns?" Hana said, stunned.

"Lot's of Reborns?!"

"A flood of Reborn-chans!" exclaimed Haru as the number of Reborns began to multiply rapidly.

"Now, which one is the real me?" one of the Reborn said to Bianchi. "If you love me, you'll find the real me."

Bianchi stared at the flow of lovers at her feet. Everybody kept quiet as they waited for Bianchi's next move. Even Lia struggled to keep her head up to avoid unnecessary attention.

"I know," Bianchi said picking one up from the crowd. "You are my love."

"You're wrong, Bianchi. I'm here." The real Reborn said, coming out from hiding. "You still have much to learn, Bianchi."

"Reborn," Bianchi said silently.

Everybody kept quite as the waited for the next scene to unfold.

"You're right. This was all too soon for me." Bianchi smiled, taking off the wedding dress.

"T-Then what's going to happen with the reception?" Tsuna cried.

"It's still going to proceed," Reborn smirked. "But the main cast is going to be replaced."

"Eh?"

"Tsuna-ni!"

_T-That's Fuuta's voice… Coming from… ABOVE?!_

"Nana!"

"D-Dad?!" Tsuna suddenly found it hard to breath.

"Honey!" Mama cried.

"We're going to have a proper wedding ceremony with proper wedding attire this time," Iemitsu whispered, grabbing his wife in his arms.

"Oh honey…"

_**o o o**_

"So, did you find out anything, Iemitsu?" Reborn asked.

Mama was now busy talking to the guests and Iemitsu found time to talk to Reborn alone.

"Is that her?" Iemitsu asked back, looking at Lia who was joining Kyoko and the rest talking with Mama.

"Yeap."

"She does look like her," Iemitsu nodded. "What about the marking?"

"I haven't seen it yet. The reason why Bianchi invited her was that there was a big chance where we could see the marking, but unfortunately, no." Reborn admitted. "But did you find out anything?"

"There are rumors going around about the Montagna family," Iemitsu said, take a swig at his champagne.

"Montagna family? I've never of them," Reborn said.

"Exactly. They used to be the weakest most unimportant family in history but now they've managed to get stronger family as their allies," Iemitsu said.

"But if it was true, the Vongola family would surely know first," Reborn replied. "There has not been any a sign or news of hostility yet."

"That's the thing," Iemitsu sighed. "It has been said that the other families became allies on their own will."

"On their own will? No mafia would go down or even be an ally without a fight."

"It is possible," Iemitsu said thoughtfully. "If she is who you think she is, I mean, Godukera had taken a liking for her. "

"And that is not normal." Reborn looked at Lia. She was looking rather pale yet she forced herself to mingle about.

"She seemed to have a reaction with Bianchi's poison cooking too." Reborn said matter-of-factly.

"Then maybe…"

"Or maybe she's just over sensitive to Bianchi's poison cooking."

"Maybe…" Iemitsu said, gulping down the rest of his champagne. "Since you can read people's minds, why can't you read hers?"

"That's another thing that baffles me," Reborn admitted. "I can't…"

"You can't?"

Reborn shook his little head.

"Ah, well, I have asked my men to look deeper into this Montagna family rumor," Iemitsu said encouragingly. "But for now, I want to dance with my Nana."

"Nana!" Iemitsu called out to his wife. "Let's dance!"

_**o o o**_

"Papa is so cool," Fuuta said, as the group circled Mama.

"Yes, he is such a romantic," Mama sighed dreamily.

"As expected from an older matured man," Hana nodded with approval.

_I don't think mature is even the right word for it,_ Tsuna thought.

"You look beautiful, Mama," Bianchi smiled.

"Thank you, Bianchi-san," Mama blushed.

"Tsuna-san…" Haru sang, looking dreamily into his eyes.

_Err…_

"Nana!" Iemitsu called out.

Mama turned to him, he walking towards her with moves that made Mama melt.

"Let's dance," Iemitsu said, gently taking her hand into his.

"Oh honey," Mama blushed.

Soft romantic music suddenly filled the place and the lights grew dimmer. Hand in hand the couple walked to the middle of the dance floor where the spot light shined on them.

"Wah!" Haru cried. "Tsuna-san! Let's dance too!"

"What! No!" Tsuna objected quickly. _I want to dance with Kyoko-chan…_

"Why not?" Haru pouted.

"Don't force the Tenth if he doesn't want to, stupid woman!" Hayato growled.

"Hahi! Haru is not stupid!" Haru argued back.

"Now, now," Takeshi laughed.

"I'll dance with you, Haru-chan," Kyoko said.

"B-But I want to dance with Tsuna-san," Haru said, dejected.

"Tsuna-kun, will you dance with us?" Kyoko asked.

_Dance with Kyoko-chan?! And Haru?!_

"Go Sawada!" Ryohei said, pumping his fist in the air.

"O-OK," Tsuna reluctantly agreed.

Immediately Haru brightened up and grabbed Tsuna's hand dragging him to the dance floor. Kyoko giggled and walked after them.

"Lambo-san wants to dance too!" Lambo said, running towards the dance floor.

"No! Lambo!" I-Pin said, running after him. I-Pin had managed to jump on Lambo making him fall flat on his face. Something flew from his hair, a purple bazooka, landed on the two of them.

Hana screamed.

There sitting on the floor replacing baby Lambo and I-Pin, was the man of her dreams; and girl sitting next to him, looking bewildered.

"A-Adult I-Pin?" Hayato said, shaking his head. "That stupid cow's done it again!"

"Eh? Where am I?" the girl asked looking around. "Oh no! I was just about to send ramen to Uncle Kawahira and if I don't send it soon it would get all soggy and Uncle Kawahira wouldn't like that!" And then she ran out of the room.

Hana gathered the courage to come up to him, now that the pretty girl next to him is gone.

"Uhm, will you dance with–"

"ROMEO!" Bianchi thundered, removing the goggles she had put on earlier.

"Big sis!" Hayato fell on the ground, twitching in pain.

Hana without thinking stormed after Bianchi and the man of her dreams.

"Turf-head's sister is so EXTREME!" Ryohei commented.

"Lia-san?" Takeshi turned to the quiet girl. "Don't you want to dance?"

"Nah. I think I'll sit this one out," Lia said.

"I'm extremely pumped up to dance!" Ryohei said. "Come on Yamamoto!"

"Haha! OK!"

And as the rest danced, she slipped away.

* * *

**Author's Little Rambling**

I'm sorry but this might be a, uh, marysue? Yeap. Marysue. I'm not that good of a writer. But please, don't let that bore you. I just like unleashing my **un**-original imagination. Haha. Wow. What a way to end a chapter. Great, sarcastically speaking. Sigh. I've lost my ideas to be frank, too worried that what I write is wrong. Hah. But if I rewrite from the beginning, I'm afraid I wouldn't know how to end this. I'm really sorry if the characters are OOC or this is MS. I won't say, don't read if you don't like it because I'd rather still have people out there who will be willing to read a very predictable and boring story like mine. And please review and tell me what you think. It would certainly help me with the flow of this story.


	7. Target 07 : The Mysterious Note

**DISCLAIMER**

I do not claim to have created or own Katekyo Hitman Reborn and its characters.

Although, I wished I owned Yamamoto Takeshi. HOTNESS!

I do claim to have created my own characters and this fan_girl_fiction.

* * *

- Target 7 -

The Mysterious Note

* * *

Tsuna was on his bed, in his usual green pajamas. With his hand supporting his head, he stared at the ceiling. His eyes were wide and awake. He couldn't sleep; not just yet, at least. There was just one question bothering him, but he wasn't sure how to ask it. But then again, there was a lot he wanted to ask, that he wanted to know.

"Reborn? Are you still awake?" Tsuna asked his little roommate. He turned to his side to look at the baby lying peacefully in his hammock.

"If you're not sleepy yet, then I think it would be better for you to catch up on your schoolwork rather than talk nonsense," Reborn said in a tone filled with nuisance.

"EH! I was just going to ask one question," Tsuna wailed quietly.

"What is it?"

"I, uh, I don't know what to ask exactly," Tsuna said blankly.

"No-Good Tsuna always the loser," Reborn said matter-of-factly.

"HEY! Why do you have–"

"Is it about Lia?"

"Huh? Oh, y-yeah."

"Don't worry about it. Nothing's happened so far. But just to be sure, Dino's got a spy on her since yesterday."

"E-EH? DINO-SAN?" Tsuna sat upright.

"Don't be too loud!" Reborn said, throwing him a bowling ball which hit him squarely on Tsuna's face. "You'll wake up Mama and the rest!"

"OWW!"

"Now, go to sleep!" Reborn instructed.

And it wasn't long before Reborn's little snores filled the room.

_**o o o**_

"Yesterday was great, wasn't it, Tsuna-kun?" Kyoko asked.

"Mhmm," Tsuna nodded.

Yesterday was great. He had the whole day spending time with his friends. Apart from Bianchi and Reborn almost managing to scare him and Dino to death, there was the dance with Kyoko. Well, with Haru too. But the point was seeing the smile on Kyoko's face when she looked at him. Priceless. And there was Mama, who was happy. Who finally got the perfect picture to go with her perfect moment.

"Yesterday was EXTREMELY fun!" Ryohei roared.

"Yeap!" Takeshi agreed, laughing.

"You're too noisy in the morning, Turf-Head!" Hayato snarled.

"Who are you calling Turf-Head, Octupus-Head!" Ryohei shot back.

"Why you–"

"Uh, big brother?" Kyoko interrupted.

"What is it Kyoko?" Ryohei asked proudly.

"Uh, why are you in our class?" Kyoko wondered.

"I'm trying to persuade Tsuna to join the boxing club!" Ryohei roared again. "His dance moves yesterday was EXTREME!"

"W-WHAT?! My dance moves? Extreme?" Tsuna echoed. Well, he had to painfully admit that Ryohei's dance moves were a little _bizarre_, as well. It actually made Tsuna look like a professional dancer compared to him.

"Don't force the Tenth to do something that he doesn't want to do, turf-head!"

"Who are you calling 'turf-head', octopus-head!"

"Uhm, big brother, shouldn't you be going to class?" Tsuna cut in between Hayato and Ryohei.

"Oh yeah!" Ryohei said as he glanced at the clock on the wall. "I'll come back later!"

"Morning, Lia-san," Kyoko chirped as Lia stepped into class.

"Morning, Kyoko-san," Lia replied.

"You left without letting anybody know, yesterday," Hana pointed out.

"Oh, that. I wasn't feeling to well, and I didn't want to disturb anyone, so I left," Lia said matter-of-factly.

"I hope you feel better today," Kyoko told her.

Lia nodded. "I'm fine."

"OK! CLASS! TAKE YOUR SEATS! DON'T WASTE ANY OF MY PRECIOUS TIME!" bellowed the teacher who had just come in.

The rest of the students immediately scrambled to their respective seats.

"I'm here as a substitute, since your teacher isn't feeling well enough to come in today," the woman teacher announced. "Now put your books away. We're going to have a little English quiz."

Groans erupted within the classroom.

"Those who couldn't answer will have to do extra homework tonight," the teacher said.

"But you're not even our teacher!"

"Those who disagree with me are welcome to answer first," she said, looking at the students list.

Tsuna suddenly found it very hard to swallow; he could feel his hands start to sweat. _Shit. Please don't call out my name… Please don't call out my name…_ Tsuna chanted, silently hoping for a miracle.

"Excuse me, you there!" the teacher called out, looking directly at Hayato. "Unless you have a valid reason as to why you must sit like that, then I strongly suggest you put _those_ down and sit like the rest."

Lia looked to her right. Gokudera had his feet up on his desk, looking bored and deaf as he could be.

"Oh man! This guy is definitely going to give us trouble," a male classmate groaned.

"Gokudera is so cool!" a Gokudera fangirl squealed quietly.

"Alright, if you want it so badly, I'll quiz you first," the teacher replied calmly yet menacingly.

Tsuna looked at him worriedly. _Godukera... Please! Please! Please! Don't make matters worse!_

"I assume you've all read 'The Town Mouse and The Country Mouse' over the weekend. It will not be my problem if you haven't."

"Uh, but that wasn't the article our teacher asked us to read!" someone protested.

"Oh. Really? Whoops. Must have slipped my mind," the teacher replied sarcastically. "You're right, it wasn't what he asked you to read last week, but thanks to your classmate here, I've decided that a last minute change wouldn't be so bad."

"B-But—"

"NO BUTS!" the teacher snapped, raising her voice slightly. "Now, boy, can you answer question number one?"

"I haven't read it," Hayato replied simply. "I doubt anybody in this class has read it. So I can't answer it."

"Oh well. If you can't answer it, I might have to ask you to stand on your chair until class is over."

"Like I'm going to do that," Hayato scoffed.

"Oh, did I forget to say it again? If you won't do as I say, then the whole class would stand on their chairs instead of you."

Once again protests came from the crowd, but Hayato's voice was heard most.

"W-WHAT!"

"I'm surprised. You actually listened! For a moment there I thought you've gone deaf again."

"WHY YOU—"

"Excuse me? Are you threatening me?!"

"Gokudera! Stop it!" Tsuna cried out, standing from his seat. He couldn't take it anymore. This was getting ridiculously out of hand, plus he couldn't just let Hayato make it worse for everybody else.

"Tenth!"

"Did I ask you to stand?" the teacher shot Tsuna with a deadly look. "And who asked you to speak?"

Tsuna sat down immediately. He could feel his knees get all wobbly. _This substitute teacher is scary!_

"Now, Gokudera was it?" the teacher said, turning her attention back to Hayato who looked as if he was ready to bomb her out and send her to hell where she belonged. "Put your feet down and answer the question."

"I don't know the answer," Hayato replied with a painful look displayed across his face. He had his feet down, too. _There was no reason to get the Tenth involved in this_, he thought. _But shit, this bitch is going to make the rest stand because I don't know the answer to it!_

She looked at him with a triumphant smirk forming across her face. "It's great that you've decided to put your feet down. Now we can all resume to some normalcy."

**Italy**

"This might not go as planned, Alvise," Tiziano said, shaking his head. "No, no, no…"

Both the boss and his right-hand man were at his private study, going through another quiet day.

"What do you mean, sir?" Alvise asked, lowering down the newspaper he had in his hand. He was sitting on of the sofas available in the room, with a cup of coffee on the low table.

"I think the Vongola family had caught up with her," Tizano said.

"How do you know, sir?"

"Do you know the Cavallone Family?" Tiziano asked, as he continued to gaze outside his window.

"The third most influential family in the mafia world," Alvise answered. "An ally of the Vongola Family."

"Yes."

"Bucking Horse Dino is their current boss."

"Yeap."

"What about them, boss?"

"They have a spy on her too," Tiziano supplied.

"If they catch her, our efforts will go down the drain," Alvise said.

"Unfortunately so," Tiziano nodded, finally looking at his right hand man. "So what do we do?"

"We send in our elite," Alvise replied seriously.

"Correct. Kill everybody; even the girl."

**Japan**

"That was the scariest substitute teacher ever!" Hana voiced her opinion.

"I know," Kyoko nodded in agreement. "But putting that part of her aside, she was actually nice. At least she decided to not give us extra homework!"

The class with the scary substitute teacher was finally over, and everyone was having lunch in the classroom. Most of their classmates shot Hayato with deadly stares while most of his fan-girls squealed at his boldness.

"I'm just glad we didn't have to stand up on our chairs until the class was over," Takeshi said with huge relief.

"Thank Goodness," Tsuna nodded.

"I would willingly stand up for him," one of Hayato's fan-girls sighed dreamily.

"I'm so sorry, Tenth!" Hayato cried out, getting down on his knees.

"EH! Gokudera! Stop it! Everyone's looking!" Tsuna wailed.

And it was true. The handful of students left in the classroom was looking at them, with weird looks panned across their faces.

"I'm so sorry, Tenth!" Hayato repeated.

"It's fine! IT'S FINE!"

"I almost made you stand up!" Hayato said regretfully.

"You almost made EVERYONE stand up on their seats!" Lia pointed out.

"Shut up!" Hayato glared back at her.

"Now, now, Gokudera." Takeshi said, trying to brighten up the situation. "That's over now. Nobody had to stand up. So everything is fine, isn't it?"

"Shut up, baseball-freak!" Hayato snarled.

"My, my! Aren't we touchy today?" Takeshi laughed.

_**o o o**_

Haru looked at the leading lady sitting on the stool. She couldn't help but drool as she continued to stare at her beauty. School had ended and Haru had immediately come here after that. She was sitting on the floor in a dressing room at the performing arts center. In her hands were costumes of different colors and styles. This was what sparked her interest in the first place – the costumes.

"One day Haru's going to be the leading lady too," Haru said, more to herself than to anyone. But she spoke it a little too loud.

"Hmm?"

"Hahi! N-Nothing!" Haru stammered, a little bit embarrassed.

The leading lady smiled. She couldn't be more than twenty-five years old with an air of elegance surrounding her. "What is your name?"

"Miura Haru!" Haru said, a little too enthusiastically.

"I like your enthusiasm," the leading lady smiled some more. "Maybe one day you will be the leading lady."

"You think so?" Haru looked at her with full admiration.

"Of course! If you're willing to work hard for it!" she said. "My name is Kurosawa Yumi, by the way."

"I know," Haru grinned. "There are posters all over Namimori with your face and your name on it."

"Haha! I forgot about that," Kurosawa laughed.

A knock on the door interrupted them both.

"Come in," the older woman said.

"Yumi-chan! I'm afraid I bare bad news," the person who had entered said. He looked as if he was going to continue what he wanted to say but stopped short when he saw Haru. "Can I talk to you in private?"

"Sure," Kurosawa, said. "Excuse me, Miura-san."

Haru nodded.

"Wah! That was the leading man, Shimomura-san!" Haru sighed, hugging the costumes in hand. "But Tsuna-san looks way better!"

A few minutes later, Kurosawa walked in with a distraught look.

"What's wrong, Kurosawa-san?" Haru asked.

"Oh my. I'm so sorry to be bothering you, Miura-san," she looked at her apologetically. "It's just that our backup dancers have decided to quit. And how can the show go on without them?"

"Hahi! Quit? But why?"

"The agency is really short on money nowadays," Kurosawa said truthfully. "And the backup dancers wanted their fair share. Unfortunately, we just don't have enough money yet. We were hoping Namimori would help us, but it can't happen now that the show can't go on."

"Hahi… Can't you get backup dancers?"

"Where can we get backup dancers this last minute? We don't know anyone in Namimori who can hook us with some."

"I don't know any dancers too," Haru said, shaking her head disappointedly.

"I really want this show to go on," Kurosawa sighed. "And I'm sorry Miura-san, looks like the show will be cancelled after all."

"B-But," Haru quivered. "Do you need experienced dancers?"

"Experience would be great, but quick learners are good as well," Kurosawa said thoughtfully. "Why? Do you have anyone in mind?"

"I might," Haru said, her face glowing.

"Oh, do tell…"

_**o o o**_

"Reborn…" Dino yawned.

The both of them were on their backs, being lazy under the sun, at Tsuna's backyard. Mama had asked Dino to stay over for lunch and now they lay waiting for Tsuna to come home from school.

"What?"

"How long must we follow her?" Dino asked.

"I don't know," Reborn shrugged.

"Has anything suspicious arisen?" Reborn asked.

"Not yet," Dino said, rolling his head in the luscious green grass.

"Then we wait…"

"Oh!" Mama squealed.

Reborn and Dina immediately ran to her aid. She was outside at the front door with a note in her hand.

"What is Mama?" Reborn asked.

"Did someone try to hurt you?" Dino asked worriedly.

"Oh? It's nothing! It's just that some one left a note for Tsu-kun," Mama said, handing the paper to Reborn.

"A note?"

"An invitation, probably?" Mama ventured.

"Sawada Tsunayoshi. Namimori Park. 7PM." Reborn read out loud.

"From who could it be…" Dino wondered.

_**o o o**_

"I'm home!" Takeshi called.

"Ah, welcome home son. How was baseball practice?" Takeshi's old man asked. He was behind the counter, skillfully slicing up a huge fresh Tuna.

"The same like yesterday," Takeshi shrugged. "I'm going to go have a shower then I'll come and help you, OK?"

"But—," his old man said.

"Huh? Is something wrong, old man?"

"I found this at the door step a couple of hours ago," his old man handed him a piece of paper. "I couldn't help but read it since it was placed in a way that everyone who saw it would read it."

"What this?"

"I don't know. I didn't see who left it."

Takeshi took the piece of paper and turned it.

'Yamamoto Takeshi. Namimori Park. 7PM.'

* * *

**Author's Little Rambling**

OK. I have decided to keep on going with this story even if it's like the worst thing ever written. Hehe. I realized that I write, not to be a professional writer but to have fun and release some tension. So please review, even if you don't like it. You may complain or comment. Just tell me what you think. It would certainly help me with the flow of this story and make my day.

And I have the best Beta Reader there is! Big applause to **FuyuSarah**!


	8. Target 08 : Haru's Big Idea

**DISCLAIMER**

I do not claim to have created or own Katekyo Hitman Reborn and its characters.

Although, I wished I owned Yamamoto Takeshi. HOTNESS!

I do claim to have created my own characters and this fan_girl_fiction.

* * *

- Target 8 -

Haru's Big Idea

* * *

Hayato walked the dark streets alone. With a lit cigarette hanging from his lips, he wondered who could have left the note.

"Maybe it's some kind of trap," Hayato ventured as he walked on. "Maybe some adversary family wanted to assassinate the Tenth!"

"I'll like kill them before they even lay a hand on the Tenth!" Hayato growled at the pavement.

He stopped suddenly. There he was, standing in front of the dimly lit park.

"It's too quiet," Hayato said, pulling out a couple of dynamites hidden cleverly around his body. "This way, I'll be ready if someone attacks me!"

Slowly he walked across the road and over the fence.

_Still no sign of anyone_, he thought. Then there was movement, on the other side of the bush.

"Gokudera-kun!"

_That voice! That's the Tenth! He's in trouble!_

"I'll kill you!" Hayato roared as he charged up front ready to blow anyone he saw to smithereens.

"GOKUDERA! STOP!"

_**o o o**_

"No one's here," Tsuna wailed as he squatted behind a bush.

"Maybe we're a little early," Reborn suggested.

"Or maybe this was all a prank and you fell for it!" Tsuna said angrily. _What a way to waste hours of good napping._

"Someone's coming," Reborn said, taking a little peek from the bushes.

"Eh? That's…" Tsuna took a peek, too. "Gokudera-kun!"

"Uh? Why is Gokudera coming at us, with DYNAMITES?!" Tsuna panicked, quickly showing his face to his supposedly right-hand man. "GOKUDERA! STOP! STOP! STOP!"

"Eh? T-Tenth?" Hayato stopped in his tracks, just in time. "WHY ARE YOU HERE, TENTH?!"

"Tsuna got a note," Reborn said. "Ciaossu!"

"Reborn-san! You're here too?" Hayato said, putting away his dynamites.

"Why are you here, Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked after his heart rate came back down to normal.

"I got a note too," Hayato said. "But Tenth! Don't be so careless! It could be a trap for you!"

"Eh-he," Tsuna faked a laugh. _He's scolding me!_

"Yo! Tsuna! Is that you?"

Tsuna turned. _That voice… Yamamoto!_

"Why is the baseball freak here?" Hayato grumbled under his breath.

"Yamamoto! What are you doing here?" Tsuna cried out. "D-Don't tell me…"

"You got a note too, haven't you?" Reborn spoke up.

"Oh? How did you know about that?" Yamamoto asked, picking Reborn up and placing him on his shoulders. "This little guy is amazing!"

_Cheh! Anyone could've guessed that! _Tsuna scoffed silently.

"Are we the only ones who got the note?" Tsuna wondered.

"Did you bring yours, Yamamoto?" Reborn asked.

"Yeap! I got it right here," Takeshi said, pulling out the crumpled piece of paper from his pocket.

"Ssshh!" Hayato hissed. "Someone's coming!"

There, walking towards them at an agonizingly slow pace, was a young girl, wearing a frilly eighteenth century ball gown.

"D-Do y-you s-see w-what I-I'm s-seeing?" Tsuna stammered. _Who wears an eighteenth century ball gown nowadays?! Is it a g-ghost?!_

There was someone behind her, but it was as if that person couldn't see her at all. Suddenly the vintage girl picked up her pace.

"RUN!" Hayato screamed.

Hayato, Tsuna and Takeshi started sprinting for their lives.

"Haha! Is this one of your games?" Takeshi asked to Reborn who was clutching on his shoulder.

"TSUNA-SAN!"

"TSUNA-KUN!"

"OIE! SAWADA!"

"Eh? Haru? Kyoko-chan? Kyoko-chan's brother?" Tsuna stopped. The three of them stopped, still not daring to turn and look behind.

"Tsuna-san!" Haru called out. Tsuna could hear her panting getting louder and nearer.

Slowly, the three boys turned their heads.

"EEHH! Why are you wearing that outfit?!" Tsuna wanted to scream but he knew better not to, especially not in front of Kyoko.

"Hahi! Tsuna don't like it?" Haru whimpered.

"DO NOT SCARE THE TENTH LIKE THAT, YOU STUPID WOMAN!" Hayato bellowed.

"HAHI! HARU IS NOT STUPID!" Haru shouted back.

"YOU TWO ARE SO EXTREME!" Ryohei joined.

"Come on now," Takeshi said, lightening up the mood. "Why are you here? Did you get a note too?"

"Haru was the one who sent those notes," Haru said.

"Y-You?!" Tsuna gaped. "W-Why?"

"Haru wanted it to be more dramatic," Haru said, swaying her arms like an octopus.

Hayato growled. Tsuna sighed. _As expected from Haru…_

"So why did you call us out here, and the most important question of all; why are you wearing that?" Takeshi asked blankly.

"It is a costume I made!" Haru said proudly. "Do you like it, Tsuna-san?"

"Err…"

"I think it's beautiful, Haru-chan," Kyoko said.

"Thank you, Kyoko-chan!" Haru grinned.

"You still haven't told us why you called us out here tonight," Reborn pointed out.

"Oh yea! You guys do know that there's that talked-about musical in town, right?" Haru said, nodding excitedly.

"What of it, woman?!" Hayato demanded.

"Well, the people involved are having a little bit of a problem. It was a tragic tale that Haru can not find the heart to repeat it again," Haru said dramatically. "And I told them that we would help them out! Isn't that a great idea, or what?!"

"Help? In what way?" Ryohei asked.

"Uh, hehe. They're actually out of back-up dancers and I was thinking, since Tsuna-san danced so well at the wedding, he and Tsuna-san's friends could help out!" Haru said nervously.

"EEHH?!"

"Yeah! GO SAWADA!" Ryohei roared with encouragement.

"W-WHAT?! N-NO!" Tsuna stammered, backing away. _Back-up dancers?! What was Haru thinking!_

"Why not?" Haru wailed, putting on her best sad puppy eyed look.

"Because I don't dance!" Tsuna cried out.

"I'm with the Tenth! This is the stupidest idea I've ever heard!" Hayato said.

"Hahi! I-It's not stupid!" Haru said quietly, obviously disappointed.

"Don't be sad, Haru-chan. I'm sure Tsuna-kun is just busy, that's all," Kyoko said. "Besides, I'm still volunteering to help you!"

"Y-Yeah," Haru cheered up. "We will need to find SOME OTHER GUYS to dance with us…" Haru emphasized her words, knowing it would tick Tsuna off.

"Some other guys?!" Ryohei roared, obviously uncomfortable with the fact.

"Well, since Tsuna-kun can't help, and I know it's not his fault," Kyoko said, looking at Tsuna with a 'don't-worry' smile, "and it is after all a dance musical; the girls are required to dance with a guy."

"What are you going to do, No-Good Tsuna?" Reborn taunted.

"Are you going to let Kyoko be swayed by a strange guy?" Ryohei demanded.

Tsuna's head started to spin. _Kyoko-chan? Dancing into the arms of another guy?_ _No! No way! Not if I can help it!_

"SAWAD—"

"I'll help out!" Tsuna said suddenly.

"Tenth?"

"Tsuna?"

"I'll help out," Tsuna repeated.

"That's what I'm saying, SAWADA!" Ryohei roared happily. _I can't let my little sister dance with a stranger!_

"Thank you, Tsuna-san!" Haru smiled, tears nearly forming at the edge of her eyes.

"Thank you, Tsuna-kun!" Kyoko smiled at him too, her face full of admiration.

Tsuna could feel himself go red. _They're having high expectations! What did I just get myself into!_

"I-If the Tenth is in, I'm in!" Hayato forced himself to say. "I can't let the Tenth go without protection! Especially with the likes of you."

"Gokudera-kun…"

"Oh? If Gokudera and Tsuna's in, then I guess I'm in too!" Takeshi grinned. "Wouldn't want them to hog all the fun!" He placed his arms on their shoulders as he forced himself in between the two.

"Yamamoto…"

"Get your hands of me!" Hayato growled at Takeshi.

"Great! So there's Tsuna-san, Gokudera and Yamamoto…" Haru cheered, jabbing the air in front of them.

"Brother? Are you going to help out as well?" Kyoko asked.

"Sorry but no," Ryohei said. "I have that life guard thing going on, plus I have boxing practice…"

"OIE! No fair, Turf-head!"

"Not my problem, Octopus-head!" Ryohei smirked.

"Oh well, three is enough," Haru said thoughtfully. "They did say they need at least three couples. Plus we already have three girls, Haru, Kyoko-chan and Hana; so mission complete!"

"Uhm, Haru…" Kyoko said. "Unfortunately, Hana can't help as she said she have other important matters to do other than be with monkeys in a circus. I didn't really understand what she meant but I'm assuming she's busy."

_I think I know what Hana meant_, Tsuna thought as his eyes twitched.

"Hahi! Then where can we find another girl?" Haru panicked.

"What about Bianchi-san?" Kyoko recommended.

Hayato could feel his dinner start to churn in his stomach at the mere mention of his half-sister's name,

"No can do," Hayato protested. "I need to be there to protect the Tenth!"

"Yeah," Tsuna agreed. "And Bianchi wearing goggles would really stand out."

"What about Tsuna-san's friend? The girl with the wide forehead? The one who's always suddenly appearing with a delivery box in her hands?" Haru asked.

"Uh... She's, uh," Tsuna began. "She's… uh…"

"She's busy," Hayato supplied.

"…with her school work," Tsuna added.

"…and part-time job," Hayato nodded.

"Ha," Tsuna concluded, also nodding.

"Hahi…" Haru wailed. "This will be a disaster!"

"Don't worry, Haru-chan!" Kyoko comforted her. "I'm sure we'll find someone by today."

_**o o o**_

"What a day," Lia muttered to herself as she unlocked the door.

Tossing her school bag on the floor, she rummaged the kitchen. It was empty. She sighed as she went to the living room and sat down on the stiff small sofa provided.

"That Hayato almost made us pay for his lack of common sense," Lia recalled the day.

She lit up a cigarette and grabbed a mug that can with the house. She brought it outside where she tried to enjoy the view of her backyard. Flicking the ash inside the empty mug, she heaved a sigh.

"Time is ticking away and I haven't come up with an approach to get the rest of the rings," she groaned as continued to breathe. "And to top it off, I'm bored and I have so much school work to do!"

"Hmm," she pulled herself up and put the cigarette out. "What do I feel like doing?"

"An evening in at the town center would be nice," she answered herself. "I can always do the school work later."

"And I must be going crazy because I'm talking to myself," she laughed.

By the time she finished having her bath, the sun had already set and the sky grew dark. She didn't need a map, this time; Kyoko and Haru had shown her the way when they had invited her on their appreciation day.

Unfortunately for her, she was wrong.

"This is what you get for being too confident," she scolded herself.

Now practically lost, she stopped at the only place she remembered perfectly – the small neighborhood store. A bell rang as she pushed the door open. There was nobody here, well, except of the person behind the cashier of course.

"Hello," the person greeted.

"Hello. Uh, sorry," Lia apologized. "But can you tell me how to get to the town center?"

"Sure. From here, you go to your right. You'll end up at a junction but just go straight until you go past a park. You'll come to another junction and then you go left and you'll soon see it," he said, drawing imaginary directions with his finger. "It's a twenty minute walk from here."

Lia thanked the man and re-started her journey. But not before a poster pasted on the outside window grabbed attention.

"Cinderella…" she said out loud. "I should catch that."

Soon she arrived at the park that the man said she should pass. She could see figures standing in the middle.

"Maybe they're punks," she said walking closer to the wall on her left. "I should keep it low. Don't want to draw any attention."

She picked up her pace a little and stole glances from the corner of her eye.

"OIE!" one of them shouted.

She ignored it and walked a little more quickly. _It could be for someone else,_ she thought but as she looked around, she was alone there.

"OIE!" came the shouts again.

Officially freaked out, she started to run. But something stopped her. It had bounced off her head and fell to the ground.

"OWW!" she yelped, rubbing the back of her head. Tears started to form at the edge of her eyes. _WHAT THE FUCK! _ A balled up paper stood motionless by her feet. It shouldn't hurt much if it wasn't traveling at a high speed.

"SORRY!"

Without thinking sensibly and motivated by humiliation and pain, she picked up the paper ball and ran across the road to the park. With all her might she threw the ball back at the group. Unfortunately, none of them got hit by it as the tallest among them all caught it easily.

"Haha. That was easy…" the person laughed, reverting from his baseball catcher stance. "Sorry about that Lia-san!"

"TAKESHI-SAN?!" she screeched, irritated and confused at the same time.

"Hahi! Lia-san! Don't be mad!" Haru panicked. "Yamamoto didn't mean it in a harsh way!"

"You apparently didn't hear us when big brother shouted out for you," Kyoko explained. "And then you started running so Yamamoto had an idea to get your attention."

"I would run away if Kyoko-chan's brother shouted at me too," Tsuna supported.

"What was that, SAWADA?" Ryohei asked.

"N-Nothing!" Tsuna stammered, taking a step back.

"Uh, question?" Lia interrupted.

"Yes?"

"Why are you wearing that?" Lia asked pointing at Haru's costume.

"Hahi!"

Hayato snickered.

"We need a favour from you, Lia-san," Kyoko said, straight to the point.

"Huh?"

"You see, there's a musical in town—"

"Oh yea! I saw the poster outside the mini store, just a couple of minutes ago! I want to go see it," Lia announced.

"Well, Haru has a better idea," Haru glowed. "How would you like to be in it?"

"Eh? In it? What do you mean?" Lia appeared puzzled.

"Be in the play itself," Kyoko chirped.

"EH?! You're joking right? Haha! Funny!" Lia forced a laugh.

"Please Lia-san!" Haru said dramatically. "Hana-san is unavailable and you are our last hope!"

"Hey! If the Tenth has to go through this humiliating thing then EVERYBODY should go through it as well!" Hayato interjected.

"I'm sorry but I don't dance!" Lia shook her head a little too violently.

"There will be a dance coach for us and we'll practice together," Haru offered.

"I have stage fright!" Lia made her excuses.

"But we're just backup dancers, no one will pay too much attention to us," Kyoko implored.

"There's just no escaping this, is there?" Lia sighed with regret. _I knew I should've just stayed home…_

* * *

**Author's Little Rambling**

T-T I don't know how I can get through all this! My maid's gone! Gone, I tell you! Haha. Sigh. Going to be a lot of hard work from my side now. Hehe. Yea. So anyhow, I made a little change in the story title. Hehe. And, **Fuyusarah**, my beta reader is amazing! Uhm, the usual, please review, even if you don't like it. You may complain or compliment. Just tell me what you think. It would certainly help me with the flow of this story and make my day.


	9. Target 09 : Boraboratutusama

**DISCLAIMER**

I do not claim to have created or own Katekyo Hitman Reborn and its characters.

Although, I wished I owned Yamamoto Takeshi. HOTNESS!

I do claim to have created my own characters and this fan_girl_fiction.

* * *

- Target 9 -

Boraboratutu-sama

* * *

Leading lady Kurosawa eyed the three young men and women standing in a line in front of her. It was five o'clock in the afternoon, the day after yesterday. And there they were, standing in the middle of the small dressing room, open to silent scrutiny. Kyoko and Haru—well, Haru in particular—actually dragged the twitchy Lia all the way from Namimori High to the Namimori Theatrical Center. The walking distance wasn't that far and on the way Lia had thought of thousands of excuses to be excluded.

"_If the Tenth has to do it, then nobody should be excused," Hayato had said._

As for Tsuna, he was not able to diminish the selfish thought of having Kyoko all to himself. Gleefully he imagined the beautiful Kyoko in his protecting arms. _Haha! I can't wait!_

"_Haru is excited, too, Tsuna-san!" _Haru had said excitedly. _"Haru wants to be in Tsuna-san's protecting arms."_

_Not exactly __what I was thinking about, _Tsuna had thought.

"Wah!" Kyoko cried out in awe as they stepped into the backstage dressing room. "I've never been in a dressing room like this before!"

"Haru thinks it's awesome too!" Haru gushed at the sight she was admiring the day before.

Tsuna looked around curiously. The room was bathed in a soft, warm light that fit the beautiful leading lady perfectly. Dresses and costumes of different colors and sizes lay strewn on the floor, on the low table, hanging on the clothing rack—practically everywhere.

"I don't really get it but this is great, isn't it, Tsuna?" Takeshi laughed, scratching his head.

The time to appreciate the room was cut short when leading lady Kurosawa and leading man Shimomura entered the room with a man whose sexuality was to be questioned. The third person to enter had the body structure of a man but the grace of a woman.

"So sorry to keep you waiting," leading lady Kurosawa apologized. "For those who don't know me, my name is Kurosawa Yumi."

"And I am Shimomura Oji," leading man Shimomura introduced himself, smiling warmly.

"I am Kagawa Saburo and I expect no bullshit," the graceful man declared. "I am going to coach you, and I am going to coach you hard! We don't have time to have fun! If we really want to save the day and make this show a success in Namimori, we're going to have to put our ass into it!"

"We have less than a week…" Kurosawa sighed. "I really hope everybody can put their hearts into making it possible."

"Don't worry, Kurosawa-san!" Haru said with full determination. "Tsuna-san never disappoints!"

"E-EH?" Tsuna gaped at Haru. _Why me…_

"I hope so, I really hope so…" Kurosawa said.

"We'll have to move," Shimomura voiced out. "This room is obviously too small for us to move about in."

"So it is," Kagawa nodded before turning to leave the room with the two leads. "You amateurs follow us!"

Almost jumping at Kagawa's command, Tsuna and the others promptly obeyed. They walked walked through a dark hallway until Kagawa stopped and, with the grace of a performer, flung a pair of double doors open to reveal a spacious, magnificent room.

"Wow!" Lia mouthed loudly, the sound of her voice echoing through out the large auditorium.

The wide room was bathed in brightness from spotlights. Red and gold curtains laced the walls, and rows and rows of velvety maroon seats were like soft waves in the open ocean.

"This is amazing!" Kyoko gushed, clapping her hands.

"Hahi!" Haru cried, overwhelmed.

"You've never been in a theater before?" Kurosawa asked, slightly amused.

"Never in an empty one before!" Kyoko admitted.

"Before we start, an introduction would be nice, don't you think?" Shimomura suggested. "Let's start with the ladies."

"Great idea, Shimo-kun!" Kurosawa agreed. "Let's start with Haru and anybody can continue from there."

"Miura Haru!" Haru introduced excitedly.

"Sasagawa Kyoko," Kyoko said, softly.

"L-Luigi L-Lia," Lia squeaked, barely.

"S-Sawada Tsuna," Tsuna muttered slightly.

"Gokudera Hayato," Hayato mumbled quickly.

"Yamamoto Takeshi," Takeshi grinned sheepishly.

"OK! Enough with the introductions! I know you, you know me, that's all there is to know," Kagawa snapped. "Get into pairs – MOVE IT!"

"Haru wants to be with TSUNA-SAN!" Haru announced.

"E-EH?!"

"Nobody should pair up with the Tenth except ME!" Hayato argued.

"E-EH?!"

"Hahi! You're a guy!" Haru disagreed. "It's supposed to be a girl and a guy!"

"Haha!"

"ENOUGH!" Kagawa shouted.

"…"

"I will decide your pairings!" Kagawa said impatiently. The intimidated high school students maintained their silence.

_Please let me be with Kyoko-chan… Please let me be with Kyoko-chan!_ Tsuna prayed silently.

"Brown haired boy!" Kagawa called out to Tsuna. "You, yeah. You with the blonde!"

_Me and the blonde… Kyoko-chan?! YES! YES! YES!_

"Hahi! But—"

"But what?" Kagawa asked harshly. "You, and the silver-haired boy. NOW!"

"What the—" Hayato stopped himself from cursing. "NO WAY!"

"NO OBJECTIONS!"

_Oh no! This is going to be a disaster, _Tsuna thought.

"Gokudera-kun, Haru, please…" Tsuna pleaded. He didn't want to take any chances. He'd rather not let Hayato, as pure as his intentions were, ruin his moment of glory. If Hayato had managed to scare the coach to do his bidding then Tsuna could end up with either Hayato or even Haru.

No.

For once, he wanted things to go his way.

"F-Fine!" Hayato grunted, as he looked at the Tenth's pleading look.

"Urgh!" Haru flinched at the mere thought of herself and Hayato dancing. The reason why she volunteered to this was to dance with Tsuna in the first place. But she could never turn down Tsuna's heartbreaking look either. So unwillingly, she agreed.

"That leaves you two," Kagawa said, pointing to Lia and Takeshi. "Pair up now, all of you!"

Takeshi walked over to Lia's side when he saw she wasn't going to budge at all, and Hayato and Haru glared at each other as they got closer. As for Tsuna, he practically sprinted to Kyoko's side.

"Face your partners," Kagawa ordered. "And look at them in the eye! You need to feel the intensity building up; think of it as a staring contest."

Lia tried to look into Takeshi's eyes but it was too intense for her liking. Quickly, she turned her eyes to stare at her feet.

"I don't think I can do this," she said quietly.

"Haha! I won!"

"Eh?" Lia looked at him with a confused look on her face. "Won what?"

"The staring contest," Takeshi laughed.

_Surely, he can't be serious?_ Lia thought as her mouth played a little smile.

"There you go," Takeshi said as he caught a glimpse of the smile. "We can do this, although I think Gokudera and Haru might win."

Gokudera and Haru were having a glaring content of their own, each winning in their own side.

"OIE! OIE!" Kagawa growled at the mulish couple.

"HMPF!" Both Hayato and Haru huffed, turning their backs towards each other.

"Now, in ballroom dancing, the man leads," Kagawa whispered audibly as he raised he arms up. "The man proposes the step; it is the woman's choice to accept, by following. Now, to follow takes as much strength as to lead. OK?"

"Mmh!" Kyoko nodded.

"The leading couple with join us in today's introduction," Kagawa announced proudly. "If you don't know what I'm talking about, look at them and copy their move."

"The man's left hand should be held out and offered to the woman, and she accepts by placing their right hand in the man's left palm; then the man's right hand should welcome her by placing it on her back, just below the woman's slender shoulder," Kagawa narrated the leading couple's elegant movements. "When the woman places her left hand on the man's shoulder, that's when he gently pulls her in…"

The golden couple had paused, gracefully holding their stance.

"OK!" Kagawa clapped his hands. "I want to see everybody in this position now!"

Kyoko, Lia, Haru, Tsuna and Hayato had worried expressions on their faces although the expression coming from Haru and Hayato were more disgusted with the thought of touching each other. Takeshi being Takeshi merely grinned sheepishly.

"COME ON! WHAT ARE YOU WAITING FOR?"

"Hahi!" Haru yelped.

Gazing at Kyoko's beauty, Tsuna trembled slightly. The smile that played on her lovely lips made him weak. They were too close, it was intoxicating. Tsuna took a deep breath. _She smells like peaches,_ Tsuna thought as he looked at her. She smiled and then moved in more closely, her head went further in then stopped. Tsuna could feel the hair on his neck stand as her lips were barely caressing his ear.

"Don't panic, Tsuna-kun," Kyoko whispered her determination. "We can do this."

That was enough. Kyoko's determination was enough to give him the jump start he needed. With a little confidence, Tsuna shakily raised his left hand and Kyoko caught it, giggling, and she let herself be pulled closer.

"Good… Good…" Kagawa nodded looking at Tsuna and Kyoko.

"I really don't think I can do this," Lia swallowed, fighting back the urge to throw up.

"Now, now; it's fine," Takeshi grinned. "Look…"

In one swift movement, Takeshi took Lia's right hand and pulled her closer. She could feel her face heat up as her arms and hands fell automatically to the right places. Her heart started to beat faster as she felt his fingers move slightly.

"Wonderful!" Kagawa praised Takeshi. "But girl, this is a give and take thing, next time don't make him do all the action."

Hayato growled. _Cheh! I'm not going to let Yamamoto grab all the glory!_

"Oie! Come here woman!" Hayato roared, as he grabbed Haru nearer.

"Hahi! What are you doing?" Haru squealed.

"I'm not going to let Yamamoto look better than me! Since we're forced to do this, we might as well come out on top!" Hayato whispered, glaring at Takeshi.

"Hahi! Haru agrees!" Haru mirrored Hayato's determination.

"FINALLY!" Kagawa breathed. "Now let's get on with it!"

_**o o o**_

"Oww," Kyoko winced.

"Hahi! Kyoko-chan!"

"Tenth!"

"You OK, Tsuna?"

"…"

"Kyoko-chan!" Tsuna looked at her, worried. An hour of practicing the basic dance steps and he had stepped on Kyoko's foot for the umpteenth time. "Sorry, Kyoko-chan!"

"It's OK, Tsuna-kun," Kyoko smiled.

"OH MY GOD!" Kagawa cried, ready to pull out his hair. "We're not going to make it in time, not at this pace!"

"Don't worry, Kagawa-san," Kurosawa replied. "They'll make it happen; Haru-chan said so."

"Yes! Haru believes in Tsuna-san!" Haru quipped.

"You can do it, Tenth!" Hayato cheered ferociously.

"Why don't you dance with your dying will?" a little kid wearing a pink body suit with matching pink legging and a green tutu walked in.

"Oh my!" Kagawa gasped looking at the little kid.

"EH?! Re—" Tsuna wanted to faint. _W-Why is he wearing that hideous thing!_

"Boraboratutu-sama!" Kagawa spluttered.

"Ciaossu!"

"Who is this, Kagawa-san?" Kurosawa and Shimomura asked.

"This?" Kagawa gasped, slightly offended. "It's an outrage that you don't know who this is! The pink outfit and his green tutu trademark! This is the one and only Boraboratutu-sama – the number one elite dancer in the whole wide world! He's retired now but still the best!"

"Wah!" Kyoko and Haru exhaled, obviously impressed.

_I can't believe they can't see through this hideous costume,_ Tsuna thought. _But what's more important is…_

"What the hell are you doing here?" Tsuna spurted.

"Where are your manner?!" Kagawa snapped. "More importantly, how do you know Boraboratutu-sama?"

"Is he a friend of yours, Tsuna?" Takeshi asked, slightly amused.

"Eh— No— I— Uh—" Tsuna stammered. _Oh this is not good! If Reborn plans to shoot me with the Dying Will Bullet, I'd definitely be labeled as a pervert!_

"I know Tsuna," Boraboratutu, or better known as Reborn, said. "And I will personally see to it that he learns the dance in time."

"Oh, Boraboratutu-sama! They are not worthy—" Kagawa started.

"How DARE you say the Tenth is not worthy?" Hayato bellowed.

"Now, now," Takeshi laughed as he restrained Hayato.

"Shall we resume?" Kurosawa interrupted.

Reborn snickered as he pulled out a gun aiming for Tsuna's forehead. In a split second he pulled the trigger, everybody gasped as Tsuna's lifeless body fell limp on the floor.

From the moment it pierced through his head, it felt like eternity to die. Thoughts of regret came in waves.

_I'm going to die…_

_I'm now parting with the world…_

_What a waste my life has been…_

_The will I feel now, will be useless…_

_I should've had this will when I danced with Kyoko-chan…_

_Then I could've danced with her at the play…_

_I should have been…_

Tsuna's eyes suddenly open, this time, reincarnated with a fierce determination. Ripping off his clothes and only down to his underwear, he screamed.

"REBORN!"

_**o o o**_

"Tsuna! That was amazing!" Takeshi laughed merrily.

Tsuna was looking dumbfounded, and a little embarrassed being in the center of attention. He was out of breath and it was chilly.He realized he was only in his boxers. But there was something else; in his arms, there Kyoko was beaming, smiling proudly at him. "I knew you could do it, Tsuna-kun…"

He had done it. He had mastered the basic dance steps, which was a simple routine of front, back and side steps.

"As expected from you, Tenth!" Hayato cried out.

"Oh, Tsuna-san! That was beautiful!" Haru gushed lovingly.

"Great," sarcasm laced Kagawa's words. "He couldn't have done it without Boraboratutu-sama's help."

"Nevertheless, we should call it a day," Shimomura intervened.

"Yes," Kurosawa nodded. "We'll resume tomorrow. As usual? After school?"

"Yeap!" Haru chirped. "We'll be here."

"Eh? Where did Boraboratutu-sama go?" asked the horrified dance coach.

"Don't worry about it, coach," Kurosawa answered. "I'm sure he saw his way out."

Tsuna looked around; Reborn wasn't anywhere to be seen. _Come to think about it, where did he go?_

The six of them were walking down the steep stairs, talking about their experiences when something stopped Takeshi in his tracks.

"Ciaossu!"

"Reborn-chan!"

"Hey little fella," Takeshi greeted, Reborn, who perched on his shoulder.

"Reborn-chan," Haru called out. "You should've seen Tsuna-san just now. He was amazing!"

"Yea! And the number one elite dancer in the whole wide world, Boraboratutu was there too!" Kyoko claimed. "He gave Tsuna-kun the confidence he needs."

"I hope Boraboratutu will come again tomorrow," Haru said.

"Don't worry," Reborn winked. "I can arrange that. Only the best for Tsuna!"

"That's a good idea, Reborn-san!" Hayato agreed.

Tsuna wanted to cry; the look on Reborn's face was pure evil. Harsh torture and long nights were to be expected.

"Sophistication is also important in the mafia world," Reborn stated. "This is a good opportunity to learn refined arts and social skills."

Tsuna groaned.

"Haha! He's talking about the mafia game again," Takeshi laughed. "How cute."

Tsuna sighed. _Yamamoto's thinks it's a game again…_

"Let's make if more fun," Takeshi added. "Let's make a bet to see which couple can master the dance first!"

"I like your idea," Reborn agreed. "The two who lose will have to treat everyone for sushi!"

"W-WHAT?!" Tsuna cried. "Isn't that a bit too much?" _If I lose, I couldn't let Kyoko-chan pay, that means I have to pay for ALL!_

"That's not fair!" Lia concurred.

"Why sushi?" Hayato asked. "Yamamoto's dad owns a sushi restaurant, that wouldn't be exactly fair!"

"Hey! That's fair!" Lia changed her mind.

"OK," Reborn agreed with Hayato. "To make it fair, the pair who loses will have to treat everybody at the amusement park!"

"AM-AMUSEMENT PARK?!" Tsuna cried out loud.

"That's would be fun!" Haru and Kyoko squealed simultaneously.

"Don't worry, Tenth!" Hayato grinned dirtily before whispering. "I'll make sure you won't lose!" _And I'll make sure Yamamoto won't win either!_

"T-Thank you, Gokudera-kun," Tsuna forced a smile. _I'll lose for sure!_

* * *

**Author's Little Rambling**

Marysue is in the building! Haha. Uhm, the usual, please review, even if you don't like it. You may complain or compliment. Just tell me what you think. It would certainly help me with the flow of this story and make my day.

Credits to **FuyuSarah** for beta-ing this chapter too. I swear to God, she's fab!


	10. Target 10 : To Each Their Own

**DISCLAIMER**

I do not claim to have created or own Katekyo Hitman Reborn and its characters.

Although, I wished I owned Yamamoto Takeshi. HOTNESS!

I do claim to have created my own characters and this fangirlfiction.

* * *

- Target 10 -

To Each Their Own

* * *

Light grey smoke filled the small bedroom that Hayato owned. It was a hot night, Hayato realized, as he moved himself from the bed to his window sill, but the feeble breeze did not provide enough comfort for him. Biting on the butt of his cigarette, he took off the white shirt he was had on. His toned torso glistened with sweat, as he mulled over having another refreshing shower.

He growled as his thought shifted to the particular brown haired girl who gets on his nerves – Haru. _Why was I paired with that stupid woman? I mean, why can't I be with the Tenth? And then there's that baseball idiot, Yamamoto, and his big mouth! Stupid bet…_

_Stupid bet, stuck with a stupid girl…_

But Hayato being Hayato, he wouldn't let Takeshi hog the glory of winning. _He has to lose and the Tenth should win! That way, the baseball freak and that girl would pay for all of us._

His green eyes glittered at the idea.

And then he scowled as he thought, _I will have to see that stupid woman first thing tomorrow…_

_o o o_

It was too early in the morning to be out for a walk, especially in the typical school uniform. Yawning loudly and looking worse for wear, she couldn't careless of what others may think of her now. Last night was a sleepless one, lying in bed awake and disturbed. Try as she might, she couldn't keep her eyes closed. After hours of staring at the colorless, bare ceiling, armed with empty thoughts; she thought she'd go out for an early walk before school. Maybe come up with a plan to get the rest of the Vongola rings.

Or maybe not.

Silently, she asked herself. What if I don't want to do this job anymore? What-ifs and buts began to cloud her head. But surely, the boss would kill me…

"Yo! You're up early," someone tapped her from behind, interrupting her thoughts.

"O-Oh!" Lia backed away as she turned around. "G-Good morning, Takeshi-san."

"Lucky!" he grinned. "You know, I was thinking, we have to come up with a plan to not lose in this bet."

Lia nodded furiously. Takeshi joined her as she continued walking. "B-But this isn't really a strategy, it's more which g-group can master the dance first."

"True… So, where are you—" he stopped short. "Isn't that Gokudera and Haru?"

"Y-yeah…"

"Let's go and greet them," Takeshi suggested.

"Uh, O-OK,"

Well, they were going to greet them but that was until they heard Hayato say, "We could hope for a miracle. Maybe Yamamoto or Lia could sprain their ankle or something…"

"HAHI! That's the worse idea Haru's ever heard!" they could hear Haru say. "Besides, if they can't dance, then how will the show go on! Look who's stupid now!"

Lia gasped. "Why that son of a b—"

Yamamoto pulled her away before Hayato and Haru could sense their presence.

"Now, now," he grinned.

"You can't just let him—"

"If it's a war that Gokudera wants, it's a war that Gokudera gets." Takeshi interrupted with an innocent yet somehow sly smile.

"Right! But there's nothing we could do but practice, and we've only learned the basic steps. The real challenge starts today…"

"Well, I'm going to the Namimori batting range," Takeshi suggested. "We could talk about our schedule there; if that's OK with you…"

"Uh, O-OK,"

The early streets we quiet, the little market vendors were just preparing to open up to another day. A few of old women were already there thought, picking through fresh fruits and vegetables. There were also a couple of people walking their dog, or even going for an early morning jog.

Soon they arrived at the batting range Takeshi talked about.

"W-Whoa," Lia gasped in awe at the huge cages occupying the space. She had never been in a place like this before!

"Yo, Pops!" Takeshi greeted the friendly old man standing behind the small counter.

"Ah, you're here," the man greeted.

"Yeap!"

"Oh? I see you've brought a friend," the old man winked. "Someone special?"

"E-Eh?" Lia turned red.

"Haha! You're so funny, Pops!" Takeshi laughed. "We're just friends, that's all."

"Yeah, yeah," the old man grinned. "The batting range is all yours."

"Thanks!" Takeshi said, and then gave a nod Lia indicating her to follow him.

Armed with a bat, he entered one of the batting cages and Lia faithfully sat outside.

"This is the reason why I can't do early mornings," Takeshi began, looking back at her.

"Ready?" Lia could hear the old man call out.

"Yeap!"

A ball shot out from a machine, aiming for Takeshi's face at high speed. It was too fast for untrained eyes to see, but the whacking sound of the bat hitting the ball made Lia certain that Takeshi had swung effectively.

Ball after ball shot out from the machine and Takeshi made hit after hit. Rarely did he miss a swing, and to Lia, it was now obvious that Takeshi regularly spent his mornings batting.

For the next few minutes, Lia walked around the arena, listening to that steady beat set by Takeshi's bat.

"YO!"

Lia turned around at Takeshi's voice, promptly changing her direction to walk to the cage he was in.

"Hmm?"

"That'll be all for the morning," he said, stepping out of the cage.

"OK."

Swinging his bat carelessly — and barely missing her face — Takashi grinned at her.

Lia rolled just her eyes.

"Those were great hits, Yamamoto-san," the old man commented as Takeshi gave him his bat.

"Oh, Pops, you're being too nice!" Takeshi raised his hand and gripped the back of his neck as he laughed.

"You better hang on to this boy right here, young lady," the old man playfully added to Lia. "He's going to be in the major leagues one day!"

"Uh? No, I'm not—"

Takeshi laughed as he fished his pocket. "I'll have the usual, Pops!"

"Here you go," the old man said, handing out two small milk cartons. "One for you and one for your friend – don't worry, it's on the house."

"Thanks, Pops!" Takeshi grinned, accepting the offer. "I'll see you tomorrow morning then. I have to go get ready for school soon."

"Thank you," Lia bowed, accepting the offer too.

The fresh outside breeze and the cold milk proved refreshing after a vigorous workout for Takeshi.

"Uhm," Lia interrupted, poking a straw in her milk carton. "We haven't talked about our schedule until now…"

"Oh yeah!" Takeshi laughed. "I forgot about that, sorry. Let's decide about that later, maybe after our dance lessons tonight? I need to go home and get ready now."

Skeptical, she raised a brow and sighed. _That was a total waste of time_, she thought. But nevertheless, she agreed. "OK…"

_o o o_

Hayato ran around the neighborhood. She's got to be around here somewhere!

Finally he saw the back of a familiar brown haired girl with her head stuck in a book.

"OIE!" He called out, running towards her.

She ignored him.

He walked behind her, and still, she didn't acknowledge his presence. This ticked him off. He was ready to bomb her for her attention when he realized, she was wearing a pair of earphones.

Stupid woman! He growled as he reached out for her attention from behind.

The next thing he knew, he was lying on the road, clutching his abdomen. B-Bad m-move… He thought as he gasped for air.

"HAHI!" Haru cried. "Gokudera-san! I'm so sorry! I didn't know it was you! I thought it was some perverted stranger! Hahi!" She apologized profusely, as she crouched next to him.

"Stupid woman!" Hayato stammered as he picked himself up.

"HAHI! Haru is not stupid!" Haru said defensively. "You're the one who's STUPID! Who asked you to grab me like that? And why are you here? Where's Tsuna-san?"

"I was going to talk to you about us!" Hayato growled.

"U-US?!" Haru blushed.

"EH?! I don't mean that 'us'!" Hayato cried out.

"H-Haru knew that!" Haru replied defensively.

"It's about the bet…" Hayato filled her clueless head in.

"What about it?" Haru shrugged, plugging one of her ears with the earphones.

"Argh! Do you want to lose woman?!"

"Of-course not," Haru huffed.

"Then we have to do something about it! We have to make sure the Tenth wins and Yamamoto loses!"

"Isn't that a little harsh to Yamamoto-san?" Haru asked.

"And? Don't you want the Tenth to win?"

"Of-course Haru wants the best for Tsuna-san!"

Hayato shivered in disgust. "And do you want to pay for everyone's entrance fee?"

"Not really," Haru shook her head. "So what are we going to do?"

"Uh, I haven't thought of that," Hayato admitted.

"We're going to have to practice really hard!" Haru said determined.

"Stupid idea," Hayato scoffed.

"HAHI! I don't see you coming up with a better idea!"

"We could hope for a miracle," Hayato said, thoughtfully. "Maybe Yamamoto or Lia could sprain their ankle or something…"

"HAHI! That's the worse idea Haru's ever heard!" she claimed. "Besides, if they can't dance, then how will the show go on? Look who's stupid now!"

Hayato growled. "FINE! Maybe we could take their practicing time away?"

"HAHI! This is going to be a disaster…"

_o o o_

Tsuna walked out of house with a smile on his face. Sure, Bianchi had hogged all the bathroom time, leaving him with only a couple of minutes to spare and yes, Lambo had his stolen his breakfast but it wasn't enough to erase his joy. And miraculously, Hayato and Takeshi was no where to be seen. Well, at least not yet. Secretly, he was glad for the given serenity. It was easier for him to smile to himself without having people asking uncomfortable questions. Comments from Mama and Bianchi were enough to make him go red, let alone getting remarks from Hayato or Takeshi.

Walking alone, he felt both excited and worried at the same time. Gods were on my side! I got to pair up with Kyoko-chan! He thought gleefully. _But if we lose the bet… HOW CAN I FACE KYOKO-CHAN!_

Tsuna was too lost in his own thoughts that he had accidentally bumped into someone, causing him to fall flat on the pavement.

"E-Eh?" Tsuna looked around. "I-I'm already in school…"

"Careless herbivores always falls prey to the carnivores," the person Tsuna bumped into said.

"H-Hibari-san!" Tsuna cried out, struggling to stand up. "S-Sorry!"

Kyoya made a gnawing sound as he swiftly pulled his tonfas out.

"OIE! HIBARI!" Ryohei growled.

Kyoya kept his cool demeanor as he stared back at Ryohei. "I have no interest in weaklings." He said coldly, before walking away.

"One day…" Ryohei said as he watched the disciplinary prefect walked away. "One day, I'll defeat him TO THE EXTREME!"

"Tsuna-kun! Are you OK?" Kyoko called out, running to him.

"I-I'm fine," Tsuna blushed as he brushed himself off.

"SAWADA!" Ryohei roared. "I heard about the bet from Kyoko!"

Kyoko giggled.

"E-EH?" Waah! She's so cute when she smiles…

"You got to win the bet TO THE EXTREME!" Ryohei said furiously.

"Don't worry, big brother," Kyoko smiled. "Tsuna-kun never disappoints."

"So what's the plan, Sawada?" Ryohei asked Tsuna.

"P-Plan?" Tsuna stammered. To be honest, he hasn't thought of any plan that will secure his place of not losing the bet. "I-I have something in mind," he lied.

"Atta boy, SAWADA!" Ryohei roared proudly.

"Eh-he…" Tsuna faked a laugh.

"There's another thing I want to talk to you about," Ryohei continued.

"What is it?"

"JOIN THE BOX—"

Before Ryohei could even finish his sentence, Tsuna had mumbled his excuse and swiftly ran to class.

_o o o_

Dino, the boss of the Cavallone ally family, snickered as he watched Tsuna step into Kyoko's foot, Hayato cringe when Haru got nearer and Lia making puking noises every time they tired to dance.

"Dino!"

"EEE!" Dino jumped. "Phew… Reborn… Don't scare me like that!"

"What are you doing here?" Reborn asked, jumping to the seat next to Dino. "Enjoying the show?"

"Uh… pretty much, yea," Dino answered truthfully. "Besides, since my men are spying on the girl, I might as well enjoy the show myself."

Far on stage and unaware of being watched, Kagawa was ready to go bald.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" He chanted, trying to calm down. His hands were deep in his curly red hair, ready to pull every single strand of his helpless hair from its roots.

This was the day where the real challenge begins, the day where the dance routine gets complicated. And from what Kagawa, Shimomura and Kurosawa had seen, these six teenagers were a far cry from good.

Tsuna kept stepping into Kyoko's feet. Hayato and Haru actually made up their own dance steps. Takeshi and Lia, well, her hands were so busy covering her mouth, they barely danced at all.

"But that's only because they're new…" Kurosawa reassured Kagawa.

"And you have to give them credit, that they are willing to learn this just to help us out," Shimomura added.

"Yes, and they did well yesterday…" Kurosawa agreed.

Kagawa grunted, yet he released his little hostages. "OK! THAT IS ENOUGH FOR NOW!"

"Eh?" Hayato breathed. He was on the cold, hard floor and he was out of breath. Something fairly heavy was on his stomach, making it hard for him to breathe. It took him a moment to realize what had just happened, for Haru was on him, looking at him with fiery eyes. "Get OFF me, stupid woman!"

"Hahi!" Haru blushed as scrambled to get herself up.

In a different section of the stage, Tsuna apologized as he helped Kyoko up. "I'm so sorry, Kyoko-chan."

Kyoko giggled. "It's OK Tsuna-kun. I'm OK."

Takeshi and Lia stood next to each other but far apart. While Takeshi had that silly grin plastered on his face; Lia was becoming more and more convinced that her dinner will soon be displayed for everyone to see.

"I have to say," Kagawa announced. "I think I want to re-pair the six of you."

"W-What?" They all said in unison, although the tones were contradicting. From Tsuna it was disbelief, but from Hayato and Haru it was like their prayers were answered.

"I think Sasagawa-san should pair up with someone else," Kagawa said.

"What! No!" Tsuna protested. "I mean… why?"

"Sasagawa is the only one doing so well—" Kagawa said, unsympathetically.

"OH MY! Kyoko-chan!" Haru squealed happily, interrupting Kagawa. "You're going to win the bet after all!"

"Did I look as if I've finished talking?" Kagawa snapped.

"Hahi!" Haru whimpered.

"With all due respect, Kagawa-san," Kurosawa intervened. "If you pair Sasagawa-san with another better dancer within the group, it would loose its balance."

"Yes," Shimomura agreed. "Put her with another brilliant dancer and what will happen to the dreary couple?"

"What bet are you talking about, by the way, Haru-chan?" Kurosawa asked with interest.

Haru looked from Kurosawa, to the mean coach and back to Kurosawa again. "We, uh…"

"We have a bet to see who can perfect the dance first," Kyoko supplied.

Haru nodded.

"That's a great way to motivate people," Kagawa painfully admitted.

"We can judge," Shimomura offered.

"That's great, Shimo-kun!" Kurosawa smiled.

"The show is in five days, since we took a day for introduction and another day, today, to try and kill me…" Kagawa spat. "We will judge with marks, those with the lowest mark loses the bet and those with the highest mark, well, obviously wins. That will occur two days before the show, so that leaves you three days to practice and perfect it!"

* * *

**Author's Little Rambling**

Yes, I did warn that this is a MarySue fic. But, but please read on. And this chapter goes out to **shizouo** for the wonderful support! And to other who reviewed and gave their support. Uhm, I don't know anything about a baseball batting range so don't be mad. LOL. The usual, please review, even if you don't like it. You may complain or compliment. Just tell me what you think. It would certainly help me with the flow of this story and make my day.

Credits to my awesome beta-reader **FuyuSarah**!


	11. Target 11 : The First Movement

**DISCLAIMER**

I do not claim to have created or own Katekyo Hitman Reborn and its characters.

Although, I wished I owned Yamamoto Takeshi. HOTNESS!

I do claim to have created my own characters and this fangirlfiction.

* * *

- Target 11 -

The First Movement

* * *

"Isn't this cool?" Takeshi beamed, waving a CD in his hand. Reborn was, as usual, perched on his broad shoulder.

The seven of them were walking down the long stairs. It was half past ten in the evening and they have officially learned the whole dance routine on that same day. Shimomura and Kurosawa were worried at first that they might not be able grasp it all in one day, but with Kagawa's strict no-nonsense policy—and the help of Boraboratutu-sama—they did. It wasn't perfect, but they did manage.

Each group received a CD given by Kagawa to practice with, and were expected to comeback within three days. For the first time, Lia was pleased to be given the chance to participate in this event. She wasn't ready to admit it in public yet, but, secretly, she liked being in the team.

"You're too enthusiastic, baseball-freak," Hayato claimed, lighting up a cigarette.

"Someone's in a bad mood today," Takeshi laughed.

"Tsuna-san," Haru cried out. "You were fabulous just now!"

"Mhmm," Kyoko nodded.

Tsuna could not recall the number of times he had been shot with the Dying Will Bullet within the number of hours they spent learning and memorizing the whole dance routine. And he thanked God that he didn't have time to change into a fresh pair of clothes every time the will died out, or else he wouldn't have any to spare at the moment.

"Of course," Hayato snorted, as he puffed smoke out from his mouth. "This is the Vongola's Tenth Boss we're talking about!"

Tsuna smiled. _Gokudera-kun…_

"The tenth will win this stupid bet for sure," Hayato added.

"And what? We will lose for sure?" Lia flashed a sarcastic smile.

"H-Haru h-had nothing to do with it!" Haru blushed. "B-But how did you know?"

Hayato growled. _I am definitely stuck with the stupid one…_

"What's going on?" Tsuna asked, confused.

"Hayato had plans to sabotage our group," Lia announced.

"Now, now, that's kind of exaggerating, don't you think?" Takeshi grinned at her, rubbing his palm at the base of his neck. "I mean, all Hayato said was, he wished either of us sprained an ankle or something."

"I mean, we'll just have to do our best and play fair," Takeshi added, swinging his arms around Hayato's shoulders. "Right, Gokudera?"

Hayato growled in response.

"Those who cheat will be severely punished," Reborn stated.

"What do you mean, Reborn-chan?" Kyoko asked.

"There will be no helping the other group unless you're in it," Reborn continued. "No sabotaging the other groups too. Don't dare and try; I will find out if any of you do try to pull something off."

The reality of what Reborn was capable of doing sent shivers down both Tsuna and Hayato's spines.

"Haha. He's so cute when he's strict," Takeshi commented to the little guy who sat on his shoulder.

Hayato growled silently as he glared at his dancing partner.

"Hahi!" Haru squealed, hiding behind Tsuna for cover.

"Oh, you are such the gentleman… Smokin' Bomb Hayato," someone said, joining in their less than jolly conversation.

At the bottom of the stairs, a handsome blond leaned against one of the columns. Surrounding him were men dressed in black suits, looking daunting and protective as always.

"Dino-san," Tsuna called out.

"Hey, little brother Tsuna," Dino greeted.

"What are you doing here?" Hayato snarled, obviously having issues with people older than him.

"I was just enjoying the show," Dino laughed as he joined in their walk. "And, dare I say, you are a pretty _wild_ dancer."

Tsuna blushed with embarrassment. _Dino-san had been watching… _

"Oh, but don't worry, Tsuna," Dino said, observing him. "If you practice hard enough, you'll do fine in three days."

"Yeah, Tsuna-kun," Kyoko chirped, giving Tsuna the confidence he needed.

Tsuna sighed. "Thanks, you guys…"

"Right," Lia started as they stopped at a junction - it was her street. "I'll see you guys tomorrow in school then."

"I'll walk you," Takeshi offered.

"Oh no, no, no," Lia shook her head. "Thank you, but I'll be fine."

"No," Takeshi interjected. "I insist."

"Uh, OK, I guess," she sighed.

"I'll see you guys tomorrow," Takeshi said as Reborn jumped off his shoulder.

"Good riddance," Hayato muttered under his breath.

"Huh? Did you say something, Gokudera?" the innocent Takeshi asked.

"No," Hayato replied.

They waved and continued walking as the two of them disappeared into the dark bend.

"Uhm, Tsuna-san," Haru started, interrupting the silence. "Is it OK if we practiced together?"

"E-Eh?" Tsuna sounded. He wasn't sure whether he'd like to practice with Haru. _I mean, sure she's practically like our cupid and all but… _

"Oh Haru-chan!" Kyoko squealed. "That would be great!"

"Sorry, no can do," Reborn interrupted.

"E-Eh?" Haru looked at the baby, confused. "Reborn-chan?"

"I feel like making it more interesting…" Reborn announced. "No group shall help one another."

"What?" Hayato couldn't believe what he was hearing. How on earth is he going to help the Tenth now? _Oh I'll think of a plan…_

"Yes, you heard me right," Reborn simply said. "And like I said earlier, if anyone tries, I'll see to it personally, that they will never see day light again.

"Err, isn't that going a little overboard, Reborn?" Tsuna asked.

"Do you have a problem with that?" Reborn shot back.

"N-No," Tsuna sighed. _Is there no end to this mental torture?_

"Oh Tsuna-san!" Haru exclaimed theatrically, slapping her forehead with the back of her hand. "Is this our farewell? Will I never see you again?"

"Don't be silly, Haru-chan," Kyoko laughed. "We just can't help each other; it doesn't mean we can't see each other, right, Reborn-chan?"

Reborn was going to answer when something stopped him in his tracks – Dino's mobile phone was ringing.

Dino looked at him apologetically as he pulled the flip-phone from his pocket. Giving Reborn another look, he walked further away from the children.

Tsuna stopped to look at Dino. Something was wrong, he could tell. It was a short conversation that left Dino shaking his head.

"What's wrong?" Tsuna asked as Dino joined back into the group.

"Sorry," Dino sighed. "I have to go... Reborn, can I talk to you in private?"

_o o o_

"You really didn't have to do this," Lia started, staring at the dark road.

Oddly, it was quiet. Sure, it was night time but it was still early. Since when did the citizens here go to bed early?

"Nah, it's fine," Takeshi said. "Besides, we need to coordinate our time. So when do you say is good?"

"Uh, well, you can't do mornings..." Lia recalled.

"…and we can't do school hours…" Takeshi continued.

"…so that leaves us with after school…" Lia chimed.

"…but only after I'm done with my baseball practice." Takeshi concluded.

"Of course," Lia nodded.

"Uh, don't you think it's too quiet," Takeshi asked, suddenly realizing the sound of his own voice amidst the silence.

"Yeah, a little," Lia agreed. _Something doesn't feel right. Like there's someone watching us... or something…_

They were almost at Lia's front door when she realized something amiss. The house was supposed to be empty, but the lights were aglow. Waves of fear suddenly crashed over her, and she whirled around to face Takeshi.

"A-Anyway, I think you should go now," she said, hurrying to put on a smile.

"But we haven't even—" Takeshi began, but they were interrupted with the opening of the door behind her.

"But it's still early," a woman stood behind Lia now, holding the door wide. "Lia, don't be so rude; invite the young gentleman inside for a drink…"

"But, he's just going…" Lia told the other woman without turning around. Her eyes never left Takeshi's as she silently mouthed, "Go…"

"Y-Yeah," Takeshi said, dumbfounded but still understanding Lia's plea. "It is late and I have to go."

"Oh, that's too bad," the woman said sorely, pulling Lia into the house.

"Be safe…" Lia prayed silently as she gave Takeshi a small wave - a wave that was meant to fool Takeshi, to let him assume that everything was OK.

Before the confused Takeshi even had the chance to wave back, Lia disappeared from his view. The woman had pulled her inside in a manner that somehow disturbed him. He wanted so much to ask who this lady was, but thought it would only cost Lia more trouble than she already had.

The lady was grinning sickeningly sweet as she waited for him to budge. As much as he didn't like it, he got the hint and started to move away from the gate.

"By the way, young man, be careful walking home alone at night - it could be dangerous…"

_o o o_

"What's going on, Dino?" Reborn asked as soon as the both of them distanced themselves from Tsuna and the rest.

"Someone is taking down our allied family one by one," Dino said importantly as he glanced back to the kids who displayed smiles and unvoiced laughter.

"Which families are down?" Reborn asked.

"The small ones," Dino replied. "But this isn't good. We haven't many resources especially after the ring battle."

"And the ninth is still under intensive care" Reborn nodded thoughtfully.

"I don't know…." Dino continued. "Maybe a deal went wrong somewhere. After all, who would attack the lower families when you can just attack the top?"

"Like a building structure, you only have to remove to bottom part to topple the top," Reborn looked at the Dino.

"You think so?"

"It is a possibility that must be looked into," Reborn said sternly.

"Yeah," Dino sighed. "Either way, I'm must go back to Italy as soon as possible to investigate the matter."

Reborn nodded.

"I will leave some of my men to watch on that girl," Dino added, with a weak smile. "Just in case…"

"No, take all your men with you," Reborn said. "You'll need every single one of your family, should the need arise…"

"Surely you don't—"

"Just in case…" Reborn smirked.

"Guess I better get going." Dino smiled back, sighed, and then tucked himself deeper into his jacket.

"Guess so…"

"Romario," Dino called out to one of his subordinates, and in an instant the man was by his side. "Gather everyone up this instant – we're going home."

"What about the girl, boss?" Romario asked. "Should we recall back the surveillance team as well? We do have enough men to spare."

"Yes, call them back. We might need them all…"

_o o o_

Her heart skipped a beat when the door closed behind the older woman. Lia knew whatever chance she had of escaping through the door was now zilch. Clutching the worn leather strap of her sling bag even tighter, her mind raced with ideas to get away. But it came to a sudden halt when she realized the woman pulled out and gun and aimed straight at her forehead. Feeling empty and somehow scared, she backed into a wall.

"I really do not understand why the boss would send a flimsy girl like you to do his important bidding," she started, the metal barrel still steadily aimed at her face.

"Who are you and what do you want with me?" Lia squeaked as she struggled to find her voice. She could feel the palm of her hands start to sweat.

"Don't flatter yourself, little girl," the woman replied slyly. "I'm not here to want anything from you. I'm here because the boss wants the rings."

"B-But I don't have them yet…" she stammered her reply.

"The boss knows that," the woman simply said, as the woman closed in on the scared girl. "And that's where I come in."

Lia whimpered silently as she felt the cold metal rod come in contact with her skin. She tried her best not to show that she was scared, but like a beast or a wild animal, the woman can smell fear.

"I'm here to serve as a warning," the woman continued, apparently satisfied with the effect she had on the helpless girl. "You are only given three days more for the rings."

Then without warning, the woman grabbed Lia's hand and pinned it above her head. Lia could feel the warm vapors of her breath traveling in her own mouth as she pressed her body against hers; adding more pain to her back as it pressed against the hard concrete walls.

"I have to admit," the woman breathed as her free hand steadily wandered through Lia's hair. "You can be pretty if you worked really hard on it."

Fear leaked from the barrier she mentally built inside her and the more it spewed out, the more Lia's eyes widened. This time, she couldn't hold it back. Like paper caught on fire, horror took over her hastily. Her heartbeat raced along as her knees start to get weak. The woman's hand found her neck and gripped it tighter - just enough to leave her breathless and alive. She knew her legs would abandon her soon, but then she only felt the pain of being dragged up against the wall. Somewhere in between the mixture of pain and fear, she realized that her feet were no longer touching the ground – she was suspended in mid-air with the help of this woman's abnormal strength. Her hands soon gave way too, as it fell limply at her sides.

"Here's a little present by the way," the woman added slyly as she raised her gun. "From the boss…"

_o o o_

Takeshi found himself walking back from where he started, back to the gate of Lia's house. Something inside him wouldn't sit still; something inside him convinced him to turn back and make sure that everything was OK as she had made it out to be.

He was almost there when he heard it.

A scream.

Followed by a gun shot that silenced it.

* * *

**Author's Little Ramblings**

I'm sorry for the late update. Heh. I was busy playing Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, which I have to say, is AWESOME. If you haven't played it, play it. I tell you – play it. Play and get your heart broken like me. Anyhow, I hope I still have some readers out there…

Credits to my beta-reader, **FuyuSarah**, for the wonderful help.

The usual, please review, even if you don't like it. You may complain or compliment. Just tell me what you think. It would certainly help me with the flow of this story and make my day.


	12. Target 12 : Deadly Nightshade

**DISCLAIMER**

I do not claim to have created or own Katekyo Hitman Reborn and its characters.

Although, I wished I owned Yamamoto Takeshi. HOTNESS!

I do claim to have created my own characters and this fan_girl_fiction.

* * *

- Target 12 -

Deadly Nightshade

* * *

"Romario just called," the man announced quietly to his partner. They were both perched on a tree branch, hidden behind the thick green leaves. "Hey Joey, are you listening? Are you still checking out that hot chick?"

Peering through the night vision binoculars, his partner nodded; still not taking his view away from the house adjacent to them. "So what did the boss want?"

"We are to pack up and leave…" he sighed as he picked up his own binoculars that were hanging around his neck.

"What? When?" Joey cried out, still starring through his little equipment.

"Now," his partner replied. "Apparently, something's going on back in Italy."

"Oh man," Joey groaned. "Just when things were actually getting exciting. I mean, how long have we been spying on this girl? Sure, it started only a few days ago, but, seriously, man, it feels like eternity already, wasting my precious time in this stupid tree."

"Well, we have to go now," his partner sighed, and, with a heavy heart, he packed his binoculars away.

"Hey, Matt, the girl is finally home," Joey commentated. "Ooh... and she brought the rain guardian back with her."

"Really?" Matt replied, the tone of his voice drizzled with slight excitement, yet he kept himself busy packing up what little equipment they had.

"Oh shit…"

"What is it?" Matt asked; somehow he didn't like the sound of it.

"The hot chick is aiming a gun at the girl," he said alarmed, finally putting down the binoculars and starred at his partner. "The boy's gone – what should we do?"

"We have to call the boss!" Matt panicked as he struggled to pull oh his phone from his pocket.

"But there's not enough time," Joey cried out, balancing his step on the thick branch. "If this woman is a real threat, the girl would be dead by the time the boss tells us what to do. And I'm sure the boss would want her alive than dead. So I say we get her out immediately. We can explain to the boss later."

"You're right," Matt agreed. "Let's go!"

The moment their shiny black shoes touched the ground, they heard a gun shot silencing a dreadful scream.

"Oh shit," Joey froze as he looked at his partner, imagining the worst. "Are we too late?"

**Italy**

"I can see that things are going as planned, sir," Alvise smirked, looking at his boss who was sitting behind the huge desk, leaning back in the huge office chair, smoking a cigar and taking it easy.

"Yes," Tiziano grinned happily, producing smoky O's from his mouth. "Soon I will have what I want and everybody in the mafia world will have to bow down to me."

Alvise nodded with satisfaction – things are finally going their way. _Power is such a wonderful thing…_

"I sent Dafne to Japan, by the way," Tiziano chuckled, standing up from his seat. "And I took back the man that was supposed to spy her."

"W-WHAT?' Alvise cried out, quite taken aback. "Why? When? With all due respect, sir, why wasn't I consulted first?"

"Oh, come on, Alvise," Tiziano grinned. "Relax… It doesn't change anything, does it? I just didn't want to trouble you with silly matters. You had your job to do, you were busy with all the crucial preparations and I was, well, bored."

"If you were bored, sir, you know I could fix you up with something much more entertaining," Alvise sighed. "Why did you send Dafne? Wouldn't she be better off here?"

"Oh, hush. She'll be back soon. I just sent her to give our _little_ girl a _little_ reminder. That's all…"

"What little reminder?"

"Oh, you'll see…"

**Japan**

The sickening sound echoed in his ears. He stood frozen in the middle of the dark road as horrible thoughts ran through his head. His eyes scanned the area around him. Strange that no one—not even one human being—had, at the very least, peeked out their window at that shrill sound. _Didn't anybody else hear that?_

There was a movement at the doorway, jerking him into action. He ran as fast as he could to hide himself from view. The dubious woman, armed with a gun and a satisfied smirk, strode through the gate. She didn't even look around to check if anyone was around.

Several broken lamp posts gave him just enough darkness for cover as he waited for the woman to disappear from view. Slowly yet steadily, he walked towards the front of the house, where he learned that the door was wide open.

_It might be a trap_, he thought to himself. He hesitated for a moment, thinking if it was best to get Tsuna or maybe even Hayato, but he knew that he would only be wasting precious time. So swiftly and silently, he entered the house.

The silence that greeted him was deafening.

Cautiously, he turned to his right. He entered the small living room only to find a tiny hole in the wall, decorated by a splatter of red. His heart started to beat a little faster, but he remained composed. Just like a hunter, armed with the baseball bat he always has with him, he followed the little trail of blood that led deeper into the house.

His pulse seemed to do the counting; it seemed like forever for him to get to the end of the trail. His own thoughts were fight with each other inside him… _What am I doing? This is foolish! I should've gotten Tsuna and the rest. But I'm here now, and there's no turning back._ _Oh, what am I getting myself into?!_

A half-opened door awaited for him at the end of the trail. Cautiously, he pushed it open with the tip of his bat. That's where his eyes fell upon a motionless figure that lay by the foot of the bed, and that's when he felt like everything was crashing down around him.

Partial darkness blinded him as he tried to identify the body. Fury started to burn inside him when he saw the familiar bangle clasped around a bloody wrist.

"L-Lia," he croaked as he knelt down beside her. Gingerly, he slid his arms underneath her. He could feel his jeans soaking the warm blood in.

The more blood he could feel spreading across his jeans, the more he cursed himself.

"I shouldn't have left," he spat.

"It would've been easier if you hadn't…"

"Ta…ke…shi… r-run—!"

Pain flowed from the back of his head as instantaneous darkness devoured him.

_**o o o**_

"Right, Tsuna-san?" Haru smiled, searching his face for some support; instead all she got was a blank stare. "Uhm, Tsuna-san? Are you OK?"

They were nearing Kyoko's house when Tsuna stopped in his tracks. He could hear Haru calling out and talking to him, but for a moment the surroundings vanished. The only thing he sensed was the feeling inside his head and the beating of his heart.

"Tenth, what's wrong?" Hayato asked, snapping him back to reality.

Tsuna shook his head, his blank face now filled with worry. "Kyoko-chan, can I leave Haru with you?" he asked the worried girl.

"Tsuna-san, if you have somewhere to go, I can go home myself," Haru started. "You don't have to wo—"

"No, I'd prefer if you stayed with Kyoko-chan for a while," Tsuna insisted urgently.

Slightly taken aback, Haru nodded and joined Kyoko who was already moving towards the door. Ryohei was there to greet them.

"Oh, you're back," Ryohei said. "Where's Tsuna going?"

"I don't know," Kyoko replied, slightly worried. "Whatever it is, help him, big brother."

"Tsuna, what is it?" Reborn asked urgently.

"I got a feeling… Yamamoto might be in trouble. We need to find him!" Tsuna cried out.

"But, Tenth, it's just a feeling," Hayato looked at him with a somewhat amused face. "Whatever it is… that baseball freak can take care of himself, anyway."

Tsuna had expected this kind of response. Who on earth would believe him; he wouldn't even believe himself. But somehow he knew. He knew that Yamamoto was in trouble. He turned to Reborn for an answer, an advice, to tell him off, to tell him that he was wrong, or that it was just his imagination.

But Reborn looked at him seriously before saying, "Then we have to look for Yamamoto."

"W-What?" Hayato cried out. "Reborn? You aren't serious, are you?

"If it's true, then maybe I can explain later," Reborn supplied. "But for now, trust Tsuna and help Yamamoto."

"How dare that baseball idiot make the Tenth worry," Hayato spat, a different kind of tone now. "I'll find him and I'll give him a piece of my mind!"

"YO! SAWADA!" Ryohei growled as he jogged in their direction.

"Good, you're here Ryohei," Reborn said. "Help us find Yamamoto."

"What's wrong? Is he in some kind of trouble?"

"He might be," Reborn said. "We'll explain on the way."

"He walked Lia-san home. We should start looking there," Tsuna suggested.

"Let's hurry…"

_**o o o**_

His eyelids felt heavy as he groggily tried to open them. His head spun as reality sunk in – he was tied to a chair and his bat was far away from his reach. His fingers were almost numb behind him, but and he could feel someone else's cold fingers barely touching his.

"Lia-san!" he cried out as he jerked quite violently.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, she can't hear you in that condition anyway," said the dubious woman in a rather happy tone.

He turned his head to see the woman sitting in one of the sofas. She was smiling, as she pointed a gun at them.

"I-I'm fine," Lia whispered hoarsely.

"Oh, there you go! She was listening all along," the woman commented.

"What do you want from us?" he demanded.

"If only the boss can see this now," she chuckled as she walked over to him.

"You know…" she continued, running her free hand through his black hair, "you're kind of good looking for a boy your age."

He maintained his silence, looking straight ahead.

She moved in front of him and began to mount him. He could feel her knees pressing up against his waist as she wrapped her arms around his neck. He could even feel the cold steel of the gun rubbing against his skin.

He was starting to get agitated and she loved every moment of it. Every movement his muscles made, the red blush that crept up his face and even the brown eyes that stared across her shoulders.

"You're innocent?" she asked yet not looking for an answer.

"Stay away from him," Lia threatened feebly.

The woman laughed at the empty threat. "Or what?" She asked, pressing the tip of her gun at Lia's shoulder.

Lia screamed in pain.

"Stop it!" He yelled.

"Playtime's over anyway." She looked at her wristwatch then pulled herself away.

"Should I leave you a souvenir too?" she asked, thoughtfully. "You seem like the popular guy in school… The star athlete… Blowing your knee caps off seems nice, don't you think so?"

"Why, you!"

"Tsk, tsk, tsk," she grinned evilly, waving her gun. "Don't tempt me, boy, because I won't hesitate to pull the trigger; or maybe I could use your trusty bat here to help me do my deeds… What do you say?"

"I say shove it up you ass!"

"Gokudera!" Takeshi cried with relief. "Tsuna! Sasagawa!

"Oh, look! Your friends are here to save the day," the woman smiled, unnerved by the visitors. "I thought you'd never come, Vongola Tenth."

"H-How do you know…" Tsuna stammered. _Another mafia enemy?_

"Why you bitch!" Hayato growled, dynamites at the ready.

"Who do you work for?" Reborn asked rather calmly.

"I'd play with you kids but unfortunately, I have to go," the woman said, glancing at the time. "But don't worry; we've set a play date… We'll meet again soon."

"Go to hell!" Hayato yelled, hurling a lit dynamite in her direction.

"You're not the only ones who can play with bombs, Smoking Bomb Hayato," she smirked, catching it and throwing out the open window – it blasted in the streets. Pulling out her own dynamite stick, she wedged it in between Takeshi and Lia. "Now let's play a game. Who'll be faster? The bomb, the poison or you guys? If you're too late, your friends will die…"

"Bitch!" Ryohei growled.

"You have about what? Five to ten seconds? Starting from now…" the woman said, lighting up the stick.

The time went by too fast. The woman jumped out the window, and then there was an explosion, and then Tsuna was flying... He could feel the adrenaline coursing through his body, the blinding light, the immense heat and the enormous force chasing up to him.

In his head, regret grew.

He couldn't save his friends…

_**o o o**_

"Haru just called daddy," Haru announced as Kyoko stepped into the room. "Haru told him that I'm sleeping at Kyoko-chan's place and he was OK with it."

"That's great," Kyoko said, balancing a tray filled with snacks and drinks over to the table.

"Yeah…"

"It's almost an hour since they left," Kyoko sighed, handing Haru a mug of warm chocolate milk. "I hope Tsuna, my big brother and the rest are alright…"

"Yeah, I hope so, too," Haru nodded, sipping the concoction Kyoko gave her. "Ooh, this is so good, Kyoko-chan! So chocolate-y!"

Kyoko didn't respond, her eyes were fixed at the small window. It was dark and nothing can be seen yet she continued to stare at it.

"Kyoko-chan?" Haru called out softly, placing her hand over Kyoko's.

"Huh? Sorry, I'm just really worried about them," Kyoko smiled weakly.

"Don't worry, Kyoko-chan. They are all strong and able to look after themselves, especially with Tsuna-san with them, they'll be alright," Haru smiled, giving her friend a hug.

"I know," Kyoko beamed, hugging her friend back. "Thank you, Haru-chan…"

"Do you hear that?" Haru asked.

"What?"

"That!" Haru whispered again.

A knock – there was knocking coming from the front door.

"OH!" Kyoko jumped. "They're back!"

"Yay!" Haru cheered. "Let's go greet them!"

The two girls raced down the stairs, the knocking had stopped but Kyoko proceeded to open the door anyway.

"Eh? Nobody's here…" Kyoko claimed.

"Are you sure?" Haru asked, poking her head outside too.

"That's strange," Kyoko said, locking back the door.

"Hahi!" Haru panicked. "What if it was a ghost and we just let them in!"

"Don't be silly, Haru-chan!" Kyoko laughed. "A ghost doesn't have to knock to enter a place. They can pass through walls."

"Oh, yeah…" Haru said thoughtfully.

"Come on, let's go back to my room," Kyoko suggested. "Maybe it was just someone playing a prank."

Haru sat herself in the plush cushion Kyoko had provided, and continued to sip her drink.

"Was the window opened before?" Kyoko asked, looking at the open window.

"Haru doesn't remember you opening them," Haru replied.

After she closed the window and drew her curtains, she joined Haru at the table.

"Uh, Haru-chan?" Kyoko pointed at a foreign object placed neatly in the middle of the table. "Was this here before?"

Haru gave a wheezing sound before collapsing on the table.

"HARU-CHAN!"

* * *

**Author's Little Ramblings**

Big shout out to **lizzieliz** for always being there when a chapter comes out. XD

A bigger shout out to my beta-reader, **FuyuSarah**. Who, is as usual, the best.

The usual, please **review**, even if you don't like it. You may complain or compliment. Just tell me what you think. It would certainly help me with the flow of this story and make my day.


	13. Target 13 : Suffering Silence

**DISCLAIMER**

I do not claim to have created or owned Katekyo Hitman Reborn and its characters.

Although, I wished I owned Yamamoto Takeshi. HOTNESS!

I do claim to have created my own characters and this fan_girl_fiction.

* * *

- Target 13 -

Suffering Silence

* * *

"What is taking them ages?" Dino growled to Romario.

Legs crossed, the Tenth Cavallone boss, Dino sat on one of the long benches provided by the Namimori International Airport, glancing at his timepiece again and again. Most of his subordinates were scattered around the airport and they were definitely attracting too much attention, but it's something Dino had grown accustomed to. When you're standing there and having men dressed in black suits surround you, you're most likely to attract any form of visual or verbal attack. Sometimes it's a good thing, sometimes it's a curse, and this time it's not what Dino welcomed.

A couple of pretty women stole a look at his arm full of tattoos, he caught them in midst of their stare, and gave a reluctant smile before pulling his sleeves back down.

"Should I call again, sir?" Romario asked, fishing his pocket for his phone. And with a nod of approval from his boss, he started pressing in the numbers.

It was ringing on the other line but nobody seemed to be picking it up. He grunted as he counted the seconds that passed by; and just when he was about to give up, someone out of breath picked up on the other side.

"Joey! Wha- What? Calm down! What is going on?"

Dino stood up immediately, searching for his right hand man's face for clues - he didn't like the sound of that.

"What is going on, Romario?" Dino demanded. He was getting edgy, and almost close to losing his patience.

Romario stole one look at him before answering, "Sir… The Vongola Tenth and his family… I believe they're in some kind of trouble…"

_**o o o**_

Everything that was on the table during dinner wasn't there any more. It was strip clean, not a single grain of rice remained. Leftovers were kept neatly in the fridge waiting for Tsuna and Reborn to come home with their ravenous appetite and empty stomachs.

Mama stood by the sink; columns of dirty white plates piled on top of each other, waiting to be cleaned. It was quiet; screams of little children were gone. Mama had put Lambo, I-Pin and Fuuta to bed. The only sound to be heard was the rhythm of her breath and the rush of clean water gushing out the tap.

"Mama?" Bianchi called out. "Mama!"

"Oh!" Mama jumped, quickly turning the tap to a close. Water had overflowed, forming a puddle on the tiled floor. "Oh my…" Mama cupped her cheeks as she sighed in dismay. "I'll get the mop!" And she quickly rushed outside and came back with a mop in her hands.

"Are you feeling OK, Mama?" Bianchi asked, help her start on the dishes.

"I'm fine," Mama answered, resting her chin on the top of the stick. "I'm just a little worried. It's late and they're not back from their dance practice yet."

Bianchi stopped to look at her, she understood her emotion - she was worried about Reborn too.

"Don't worry, Mama. Tsuna and Reborn can take care of themselves," Bianchi smiled, reassuring both Mama and herself.

"Yeah," Mama nodded, mopping up the last spot.

"Why don't you go to bed?" Bianchi suggested. "I'll finish up in here…"

"Yeah… Thank you, Bianchi-san," Mama replied tiredly. "That would be nice."

Mama's figure disappeared beyond the sliding door, taking the mop with her. Bianchi could here her soft foots steps walking up the stairs and into her room.

Bianchi was just finishing up when she heard a thud coming from the deck. Silently, she went to investigate the cause of sound.

A little gasp escaped her lips. Something lay on the wooden floor. It was dark but there's no mistaking it. _Deadly Nightshade…_

"There's no point of hiding," Bianchi said dangerously.

"You held up to your reputation… I'm impressed."

"Who are you?" Bianchi asked.

"There's no time for question and answers," the voice replied. "Unless of course you want your friends to die…"

"Bitch! What did you do?" Bianchi swore, identifying the voice as a woman's.

She stood there, hearing nothing but the howling of the cold late wind. No reply came, and it was obvious to Bianchi that the woman was now long gone.

"Shit!" She swore some more. _It could be just a hoax but it is always better being safe than sorry…_

The image of the menacing beauty stood there for a moment, thinking of what to do. Finally, with a little nod, she left Mama a note and went off to look for Reborn.

_**o o o**_

Nothingness surrounded him - all Tsuna could do was nothing; see nothing, hear nothing, feel nothing. There was no one, there was no sound and there was, surprisingly, no pain.

"Is this afterlife?" he murmured to himself. "Am I… dead?"

It felt like eternity as he waited for something; a sound, a vision, a touch or even pain – anything.

"Tsuna…"

He turned. Someone was calling out to him, but where? Like a blind man, he walked towards the sound, his hand reaching out to the nothingness.

"Tsuna…"

"Where?" Tsuna asked softly.

"No more bullshit!"

Pain was what Tsuna felt next – his felt like he was just punched in the face. The normal feelings were coming back to him now, he could hear people talking in a distant, and he could see Reborn standing on top of him.

Tsuna sat up with a groan, his head was pounding mercilessly.

"Took you long enough," Reborn greeted harshly. "You always me make kick you in the head."

Further away, Tsuna could see pajama clad neighbors gathered to witness the fall of another neighbor.

"I'm calling the fire department!" an old woman from the crowd announced.

"There's no need for that, ma'am," one of Dino's men replied. "The appropriate authorities are already here to handle the problem.

"Wha—? Why?" the old woman asked, and that's when she realized there were just many of the black suited men around. Some were holding the crowd back, while some were trying to put out the fire. "Which part of the government do you work for?"

"Unfortunately, it is not in my right to say," the man answered politely. "But for your safety I suggest you go back inside ma'am. The situation is under control."

"The younger generation nowadays don't know anything about respecting their elders!" the old woman spat, but she did as she was told – she went back inside her house.

"I swear, control is never an easy thing…"

Tsuna turned to see Dino greet him with a weird smile.

"TENTH! ARE YOU ALRIGHT!" Hayato asked, running towards him.

A hurried breath escaped his bleeding lips as he jerkily stood up. "Gokudera-kun! Thank goodness you're alright!"

Hayato looked worse for wear, parts of his clothes were burnt and his forehead was bleeding. He looked at the house – the fire was so strong that Tsuna could feel the heat from where he was sitting. Like a hungry savage beast it covered every inch and corner with its immense flame. And that's when reality dropped in on him.

"I'm sorry, sir," said one of Dino's men. "The fire's too much for us. We can't enter the house without being burned ourselves."

"Uhm, where's the rest Gokudera-kun?" Tsuna asked, looking around.

"Tsuna…" Dino started.

"No… NO… NO!" Tsuna screamed as the ugly truth rained on him. "Gokudera! Where's Yamamoto? Kyoko-chan's older brother? And Lia?"

Gokudera maintained his silence for a while; hanging is head as if in regret and shame. "Tenth…"

_**o o o**_

Kyoko's eyes widened with fear. Haru's face was flat on the table, and she wasn't moving.

"Haru-chan…" Kyoko looked at her friend slumped on the table. Tears were ready to fall from the lids of her eyes, but quickly, she dismissed them away.

"Kyoko-chan," she breathed weakly. "I don't feel good."

Kyoko felt a rush of relief the moment she heard her friend speak. _She's still OK, _she thought. Immediately, Kyoko reached out to touch her. Sliding her arms around Haru's chest, she helped her get up and slowly moved her to the bed. Running her fingers through Haru's brown hair, she looked at her helplessly.

"Oh, Haru-chan! Did I do this to you?" Kyoko asked, more to herself than to Haru. "Maybe it was the drink I made and I accidentally put in something and now…"

"No, of-course not," Haru tried to laugh. "It wasn't your fault, i-if it was, then you would be feeling unwell too, right?"

"Then…" Kyoko's face turned a little pale as a horrible idea dawned in her little head. "Someone put something in our drinks when we were downstairs. That's why the window was open! And… and… they even left us something."

Haru groaned.

"I'll go get Tsuna-kun and my brother," Kyoko said, trying to soothe both Haru and herself. "I'll go get them and everything will be alright. I promise."

_**o o o**_

Tsuna stood there for a moment, starring at Gokudera who didn't want to look at him. Instantly, he knew what had happen.

"NO!" Tsuna screamed with anger. "NO! NO! NO! How can this happen? This is not supposed to happen!"

Without thinking he picked himself and ran to the blazing house.

"NO! Tsuna, wait!" Dino scrambled towards Tsuna, pinning him down."Look!"

Tsuna raised his head to see two dark silhouettes forming at one of the windows. One of them carried a little figure in his arms.

"YAMAMOTO!"  
"BASEBALL FREAK!"

"KYOKO'S BROTHER!"  
"LAWN-HEAD!"

Immediately, Dino's men, Tsuna and Hayato ran to their aid.

"WHAT? HOW?" Tsuna poured out gratefully. "ARE YOU GUYS OK?"

"Ha-ha, We're fine…" Takeshi grinned weakly. "Just a couple of cuts and bruises."

"This girl needs medical attention fast," Ryohei said, putting Lia on the ground. "Looks like she's unconscious."

"Sasagawa-san, let me get her off you, I'll attend to her myself personally," Romario said. "Yamamoto-san, one of our men will look at you and Sasagawa-san, someone will look at you too."

"What happened, baseball freak?" Hayato asked furiously.

"Ryohei managed to pull us," Takeshi winked. "Just in the nick of time, I'd say."

"I was extreme, wasn't I?" Ryohei coughed.

"Now is not the time to laugh," Reborn interrupted seriously.

"Eh? Everyone's safe, so why not?" Tsuna asked.

"The woman mentioned something else earlier…" Reborn said.

"I can't seem recall…" Tsuna said carefully. "OWW! Why did you do that for?"

"You would think from all your previous training, you'd at least figure that one part out!" Reborn answered, giving Tsuna a good smack on the head.

"She said something about who will be faster, the bomb, the poison or us," Takeshi recalled, as one of Dino's man cleaned the wound at the back of his neck. "But there wasn't any poison… so what did she mean by that?"

"REBORN!"

"Bianchi?"

"SIS!" Hayato squealed before collapsing on the pavement.

"Oh, Reborn!" Bianchi picked the little guy up and closed in for a hug. "Oh, you're fine! Thank goodness! Hayato! Are you OK? What happened here?"

"S-Stay… a-away…" Hayato managed to stammer, using Takeshi as a shield from the view of his older sister.

"Long story," Reborn said simply. "What are you doing here, Bianchi?"

"Someone dropped by just now, a woman," Bianchi explained.

"WHAT!" Both Tsuna and Takeshi interrupted.

"And she left this," Bianchi said, carefully pulling out the flower from her pocket. "I thought someone tried to hurt you, so I left Mama a note and went off to search for you. I didn't know where to look at first but saw fire from afar and I thought I'd check it out. And then Dino's men didn't let me pass through but one whiff of my poison cooking sent them dropping like dead flies, and here you are, my love, safe and sound. I knew it was just a prank…"

Dino suddenly felt sorry for the men who had to deal with Bianchi.

"I don't think it's a prank," Reborn said, rubbing his little chin. "The woman for earlier said something about poison and now this flower…"

"What the deal with tha—"

"BIG BROTHER!"

"EH? KYOKO? What are you doing here?" Ryohei shouted.

Kyoko was running towards them, a glint of worry filled her eyes. Suddenly Tsuna felt guilty of dragging Ryohei to this in the first place.

"Big brother!" Kyoko gasped. "Why are you bleeding? Are you OK? And why is Lia-san's house in flames? Where is she? Is she OK?"

The look on Kyoko's face and her unanswered questions left Tsuna with a heavy heart. How should he explain all this to her?

"Everybody's fine, Kyoko," Ryohei insisted, wiping a blood that trickled from his forehead. "Now, how did you end up here? And more importantly, why are you here? Are you in some kind of trouble? Is everything alright at home?"

"Kyoko-chan? Where's Haru?" Tsuna added, another question to the pile.

Her head and her heart were pounding harshly. Her wide golden eyes wondered from her brother to Tsuna. Everything is just too messed up and she couldn't bear holding in the tears that had threatened to spill anymore. Her big brother was bleeding, Tsuna was hurt, and everyone… And Haru…

"Haru!" She managed to stammer between chokes. "Something is wrong with Haru-chan!"

"What are you talking about, Kyoko?" Reborn asked, looking at the emotionally wrecked girl.

"Haru… I think someone poisoned Haru…"

_**o o o**_

Haru couldn't stand to open her eyes, because every time she did, all she could see was a vision of blurriness; and the feeling of flight wasn't helping at all. Her breathing grew more ragged and sweat started to lace her pale skin.

She felt like having a glass of water, for her throat seemed dry and every time she tried to make a sound, she croaked.

A tear escaped the lids of her eyes, as she grasped Kyoko's yellow bedcovers. Tears spilled more as she curled up to her side. She could feel the pillow case grow damp against her red face.

Silently, she wished for the suffering to end and silently, she pleaded, "Kyoko-chan… Tsuna-san… Please be quick…"

* * *

**Author's Little Ramblings**

And I have to say, smoking Hayato is hot, especially when he tied his hair up. Oh but Takeshi will always be mine! Muahaha. And I wish I could draw, it would've been easier to draw the thing that plays in my mind than expressing it in words.

Sorry for the late update there, guys. I lost my pen-drive but now, I found it! Hee.

--

**kuro.shi.ame** – lol. I hope you keep on reading! And thank you so much for the review!

**DarkVampireKnight** – I LOVE YOU! LOL! Thank you for reviewing! I hope you keep on reading too!

--

The usual, please **review**, even if you don't like it. You may complain or compliment. Just tell me what you think. It would certainly help me with the flow of this story and make my day.


	14. Target 14 : Savior

**DISCLAIMER**

I do not claim to have created or owned Katekyo Hitman Reborn and its characters.

Although, I wished I owned Yamamoto Takeshi. HOTNESS!

I do claim to have created my own characters and this fan_girl_fiction.

* * *

- Target 14 -

Savior

* * *

It was as if his world had been silenced and everything was moving agonizingly slow. Kyoko's lips trembled as she looked from him to her older brother. She looked at him with her golden pleading eyes, searching through the orange gems of his for support. But all Tsuna could do was look back with confusion and doubt. _What on earth is she talking about? What the hell is she talking about?_

Without even pausing for a second, the older girl took the questionable matter into her own hands. "What are you talking about, Haru being poisoned? What do you mean?" Bianchi urged the younger girl on.

"We… we were waiting for big brother and Tsuna-kun to come back, wh-when the door bell rang. We thought it was you guys, so we went down to open the door…"

"Why did you do that for!" Ryohei slapped his forehead recklessly. "I got my own keys! What if you opened the door to a killer?"

"B-But when we opened the door, no one was there!" Kyoko explained exasperatedly, in between sobs. "And then… and then, the window was open and there was a flower on the table and… and Haru suddenly went pale and collapsed!"

"Did the flower look something like this?" Bianchi asked, holding up the stem carefully for her to see.

"Yes!" Kyoko nodded, furiously.

"Definitely, the same person," Dino sighed.

"What do we do, Reborn?" Tsuna cried out loud, growing frantic by the second.

"Uhm, I'm sorry to interrupt, but, Dino, sir, you might want to look at something," Romario interrupted.

Dino looked at Reborn and he looked back.

"Since Ryohei and Yamamoto needs medical attention… Tsuna, Kyoko, and Gokudera, go get Dr. Shamal, he'll know what to do," Reborn instructed. "Bianchi and I will stay here."

"I'll send some of my men with you for assistance," Dino offered to Tsuna.

"Mmm," Tsuna nodded. "Let's go, Kyoko-chan, Gokudera-kun."

By the time Tsuna, Kyoko and Hayato disappeared from sight, the crowd that had gathered before was now sparse and the blaze is now under control.

"What is it that you wanted to show me, Romario?" Dino asked, as he walked to the makeshift medical tent propped underneath a thin tree.

"Well, you know we have been waiting for the moment to confirm her identity…" Romario trailed, as he raised the curtain for Dino, Reborn and Bianchi.

"And? Is it there?" Bianchi pressed anxiously.

Lia, still unconscious, was lying on the grass, half naked. Her shirt had been removed from her and her wound was wrapped with bandage.

"Well…" Romario said, removing the covering that covered her body.

A light gasp escaped from Bianchi's lips. Her big olive eyes fell on the huge red hideous lump of healed burnt skin tissues that lay on the girl's left shoulder.

_**o o o**_

The three of them split up with Dino's men, thinking it would be faster that way. They could hear was the patter of their feet as they raced through the dark and silent hallways. They could hear the sound of each other's breaths as their heart pumped faster.

The sweet whistle of a bird and a thud came from behind them as a menacing voice floated towards the three.

"What are you doing here?"

The familiar voice made Kyoko and Tsuna jump.

"Leave now or I will bite you all to—"

"Why you…" Hayato growled as he turned. He knew that voice, the words were only too familiar.

"Please, Hibari-san!" Kyoko said, her eyes glowed with fierce determination. One Tsuna had never seen before. "We just need to find the school doctor."

"Hmph. Leave, he is not here." Kyouya replied dangerously.

Behind Kyouya, a figure loomed from the darkness. "Now, now… A man must never be rude to a girl, especially one that is prett—"

It happened too fast. But the older man was faster. The sharp metal spikes of Kyouya's tonfas missed his face by only a few millimeters away.

"Phew! That was a close one!" Dr. Shamal grinned.

"Leave the school premises in five seconds or I will bite all of you to death!" Kyouya snarled.

Hayato was ready to blow Kyouya away when Tsuna stopped him.

"No, Gokudera-kun!" Tsuna cried. "We don't have much time to spare. Every second counts!"

Reluctantly, Hayato obeyed. With a stubborn heart, he put his dynamites away.

"You know, I would like to stay and eat you all alive…" Kyouya voiced, with a handsome but evil grin plastered on his face. "…but I hate wasting my time. I'm going to go search for stronger opponents to chew on." With that, he turned and left.

"That Hibari-san is such a frightful person," Tsuna sighed.

"Dr. Shamal! You have to help Haru-chan!" Kyoko urged as she gripped her own hands tighter.

"Don't worry, pretty Kyoko-chan!" Dr. Shamal bared his teeth in a rather unappealing grin. "That fair maiden's savior will come and save the day."

_**o o o**_

"Well, that not going to work now, is it?" Reborn said, slightly annoyed. His large bug-like eyes, too, fell upon the sight of Lia's ugly left shoulder.

Dino maintained his silence. To him, it looked like a huge lump of rotten meat was glued to her skin. He raised his palm to cover his mouth - it looked as if it smelled too.

"Maybe, this is all the proof we need," Romario said, breaking the short silence. "Maybe this was done on purpose to hide something."

"Or maybe we want to believe in something that's actually nothing," Bianchi bit her lower lip, as she voiced her opinions quietly.

Everybody kept their eyes and their voices to themselves. No dared to speak, to make a sound. In the small camp that they crowded in, not any of them even dared to move a muscle.

The words that flowed from Bianchi lips could possibly be the truth they all preferred not to hear, not to believe. It was so much easier to have someone to point an accusing finger to, to be the reason behind everything, to have someone to put the blame on.

A rustle from the outside broke the heavy atmosphere. A rather bloody hand slid through the opening, a smiley face plus his sheepish grin illuminated their rather gloomy aura.

"Sorry…" Takeshi said, his grin his plastered on his face. "… to interrupt."

"That's OK," Dino replied. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah," Takeshi continued. "I just wanted to know if Lia-san is alright."

"We will need to take her to the hospital now," Romario answered. "You need to come with us too, Yamamoto-san. Your wound seems quite deep to be treated lightly."

"Really?" he grinned as he touched the back of his head gingerly. He had to admit he felt giddier by the minute. As if in queue, his hand lost its grip and helplessly, he could feel himself falling to the ground.

A strong hand slid around him, catching him in time.

"Che. You're too weak, Yamamoto," Bianchi said with a small smile, as she tightened her grasp around his chest.

Her deep olive eyes were the last thing the young boy saw before dark slumber swept over him.

_**o o o**_

She felt like she was in a faraway place, unknown to her. It was dark, but oddly, she felt scared and yet, calm at the same time. In a distant, she could hear Tsuna's, somehow melodic, voice calling out to her.

"_Haru!"_

"Tsuna… san…?"

"_Wake up, woman!"_

"Gokudera…?" she asked herself, looking around in vain.

"_Haru-chan…"_

"Kyoko-chan?"

Her heart skipped a beat. Now, she could feel Tsuna's warmth coursing through her body. Their voices and their warmth gave her the little strength she needed. Feebly, she raised her eyelids; and a pair worried orange gems looked back at her. A tear escaped and rolled down her rather pale face, as she greeted them with a rather crooked smile.

"GEH! That pervert is sure taking his time!" Hayato growled.

"Don't fret that immature head of yours," Dr. Shamal greeted, entering the rather small room with his own grandeur. "Move aside."

"Doctor… Shamal…" Haru welcomed weakly.

Kneeling by the side of Kyoko's bed, Dr. Shamal placed his suitcase carefully by his side. With on click, the suitcase sprung open. His hand reached out towards Haru's forehead.

"Cheh!" Dr. Shamal could hear Hayato grunt from behind.

"Are you jealous because I get to touch her and you don't?" Dr. Shamal smirked in reply.

"Wha—"

"Dr. Shamal! Now is not the time!"

"Oh, yes! Sorry." Dr. Shamal said, as he pulled out a small container from the rows of containers neatly stacked in his suitcase. "By the way, Kyoko-chan, did you touch that flower?" He pointed to the low table that stood in the middle of the room.

"N-No," Kyoko answered carefully.

"Alright. Handle it carelessly, and it could be fatal," Dr. Shamal pointed out. "Nobody touches it until I'm done."

"Come now, Princess," Dr. Shamal crooned. A mosquito flew out of the container that he was holding. "Now, this won't hurt at all."

Haru nodded.

"There we go… You'll actually feel better almost immediately.."

_It didn't hurt. Just like the school doctor said. It itches though_, she thought. _Everything is feeling alright again, just like he said it would be… But now… I… fe…el…_

"But for now, rest pretty Haru-chan…"

_**o o o**_

When she opened her eyes, it was dark. Her eyes could not make out where she was but she could make out the faint smell of cleanliness. Slowly and steadily, her blurry vision cleared in front of her. It was still dark but she could see clean white ceilings above her. The air that wrapped around her body was rather chilling.

With a gasp, she sat up straight. The blue linen that had been tucked neatly around her now rested on her lap. She winced as pain shot from her right shoulder. Her left hand reflexively reached out to the pain, but it was pulled back. A huff escaped her lips as pain shot through her hand this time. There were tubes and needles connected from her hand to the IV drip that stood by her bed.

"Takeshi-san…" she breathed as she suddenly recalled the previous happenings.

Looking around, she learned that she was alone - on a bed in a small room. She was in a hospital, she realized.

"Takeshi-san!" she cried out. Worried, she heaved her legs out of the bed. The sudden movements made her head spin. Her breathing suddenly got heavier. _This would be easier if I could use my right hand, _she thought. _But bound up like this, I can only move my fingers. _

So with all the strength she had to spare, she stood and coiled the long tube around another spare hook. Satisfied with the distance of the needle from her hand and the drip, she closed her eyes. With one harsh pull, the needles tore from her skin. It was small tears, for the needles were not that big but hot tears stung her eyes, as she tried to withstand the pain.

"Wuu…" She howled as she pressed her back of her hand against her thigh.

The sound of the door opening made her forget about the temporary pain. Straightening herself steadily, she backed away from it. An unfamiliar man wearing a black suit entered, with a Styrofoam cup in his hand. The strong smell of coffee floated from it.

His eyes bulged as he saw her out of bed and even managed to free herself from the drip.

"Let me out!" she cried.

"I'm sorry. I can't do that. What on earth did you do? This is so troublesome. I'm going to call for Romario. You stay put, miss, please."

"Please!" she begged. "I just want to see Takeshi-san! Is he alright?"

"Will you stay put!" the man replied, clearly irritated. "He's just next door and he's fine. Now, stay here while I get Romario."

"Please…" she repeated herself. This time, her voice seemed quiet. His heart skipped a beat as she gripped her hand around his wrist. "Let me see Takeshi-san."

There was long silence before the man uttered words again. "O-OK." He nodded.

"Please, you could take a nap and wait for me here. I'll be back," she continued.

She let go of him as he nodded for the second time.

Smiling guiltily, she slipped out from her room.

It was quite outside in the hallways. The next room was only a short distance away. Slowly, she turned on the knob and peaked in.

There on bed she saw the familiar black hair and familiar figure lying on it. _Nobody is guarding him_, she thought. _That's not really fair…_

Stealthily, she entered the room. The quietness buzzed her ears. It annoyed her. Tiptoeing her way to the bed, she smiled as her friend slept peacefully. The longer she stared at him, the more her smile faltered.

"I'm sorry…" she whispered.

Silent tears tricked down her face, as she stared at her feet. "It's all my fault!" she sniffed. "It's my fault, you're hurt…"

"It's not your fault."

She jumped as she felt fingers reaching out for her.

"You're awake," she faked a laugh. "I'm sorry, did I wake you up?" She asked, as she quickly rubbed her eyes and backed away.

"It's not your fault," Takeshi replied. "That's what friends are for, by the way. To be there for each other in time of need…"

"F-Friends…?" She hung her head, as his words rolled out of her lips.

"Besides, it's just a little cut. I'm fine!" he grinned, as he sat up.

"Takeshi-san? Please, let me have a look at it."

"Eh? Romario-ossan looked at it earlier and cleaned it up. There's no need for you to look at it."

"Please, just let me look at it, Takeshi-san…"

"A-Alright…"

"Don't worry, Takeshi-san. After this, I will go and I won't disturb you again…"

* * *

**Author's Little Ramblings**

Yezza! Haha. It's Takeshi's turn to shine in the latest manga. Rawr. So anyhow, Takeshi (Yamamoto) is so hot in chapter 197, that I just had to color him. Plus, I was looking for a good lineart to practice digital coloring/painting and I have to say, it didn't turn out bad for my first try. Haha. You want to see? Please have a look at my fanart links on the bottom of my profile page. Domo arigato!

And homaigatz! I think I've just became a Squallo fangirl too. The two Vongola swordsmen are sizzlin' hot! Rawr. Can't chapter 201 come any faster!

The usual, **please review**, even if you don't like it. You may complain or compliment. Just tell me what you think. It would certainly help me with the flow of this story and make my day.

A big **THANK YOU** to those who've reviewed. Domo arigato. I LOVE YOU GUYS! Hehe.


	15. Target 15 : Painful Betrayal

**DISCLAIMER**

I do not claim to have created or owned Katekyo Hitman Reborn and its characters.

Although, I wished I owned Yamamoto Takeshi. HOTNESS!

I do claim to have created my own characters and this fan_girl_fiction.

* * *

- Target 15 -

Painful Betrayal

* * *

The atmosphere was tense as Dr. Shamal puckered his lips. His flesh longed for a woman's touch. He knew it was too much if he actually received a kiss from her – but she was closing in too. Her eyes were seductive and her lips puckered for him too.

Maybe his eyes were deceiving him. But he might as well try his luck. He closed his lids, as her smell consumed him. _Yes! I might actually get lucky, tonight!_

Or so he thought.

His lips burned. He could smell something acrid from underneath his nostrils. He knew this feeling only too well - and he was right. When he opened his eyes, he could see purple crème brulè eating away at his lips.

"In your dreams," Bianchi snorted, dusting her hands with a satisfied smirk.

_Aii! Bianchi is scary… as always…_ Tsuna thought as he watched Dr. Shamal fell to the floor, twitching like an insect that had just been sprayed with insecticide.

But Dr. Shamal wasn't one to give up easily. Instead of playing dead and being safe, with red swollen ugly lips, he stood up and ran towards Bianchi, while he crooned out her name. "BIANCHI"

"GEH! That stupid pervert is making too much noise!" Hayato growled as he entered the room. "Haru might wake up!"

"Why, Hayato…" Bianchi sang. "You sound as if you cared…"

"S-Sis!" And with that, it was Hayato's turn to fall, twitching awkwardly on the floor.

"Gokudera?" Kyoko called out, worried. "Are you OK? You might have overdone it today!"

"I don't treat men, sorry," Dr. Shamal announced, suddenly feeling better. "I'm going to go now." In a rather swift pace, he picked up his suitcase and left.

"Gokudera?" Kyoko called out again, this time more confused than worried.

"Don't worry about him, Kyoko." Bianchi said as she scooped Hayato up. "I'm going to take him home. I think I'm too much pressure for him. He thinks me of the opposite sex too much, it's almost not healthy.'

_That's not even it!_ Tsuna cried out silently.

"Come on, Tsuna. We're going home." Bianchi said.

"Eh? We can't just leave them here, alone…" Tsuna protested slightly.

"Don't worry…" Bianchi replied.

"I'll watch over them to the EXTREME!" Ryohei continued.

"Brother!" Kyoko gasped. "That's too much noise!"

"Ah… Haha… Sorry…"

_**o o o**_

Takeshi woke up to the sound of a thud. Glaring sunshine flooded, blinded him temporarily as he sat up straight. Yawning quite loudly, he rubbed his eyes, adjusting to the milieu.

"Ah…" He heard Romario say. "You're awake, Yamamoto-san. I was just about to wake you up."

"Yeah," He yawned again.

"Ciaossu!" a greeting came. Takeshi looked to his right and saw Reborn sitting on the side table, munching on a slice of apple. "It looks like you had a nice sleep."

"Yeap!" He chirped, greeting the little guy with one of his infamous grin. "My wound… It doesn't hurt at all."

"Really?" Romario asked, pleasantly surprised. "Allow me to have a lot at it, Yamamoto-san."

His grin only grew wider as he nodded at the older man.

Carefully, Romario unwrapped the bandage that covered his neck. He kept on grinning, he had to admit – it didn't hurt anymore. Not even the slightest bit. Yesterday, sure it was stinging but this morning, it felt nothing at all.

"How does it look like back there?" He asked, as the old man kept quiet.

Romario cleared his throat before answering Takeshi with a rather squeaky voice. "Your wound's healed. Even the stitches… they're no longer there."

"Your medication is very good," Takeshi laughed. "I might just come to you more often if I get hurt."

"What did you do, Yamamoto?" Reborn asked, as he jumped to the bed.

"Eh? I did nothing. It must be a miracle!" Takeshi gushed playfully.

"Did Lia-san come to see you last night?" Romario asked urgently.

"Wow! Are you psychic or something? How did you know, Romario-san?" Takeshi asked, with honest curiosity.

"Did she?" Reborn pressed.

"Actually… she did come in for a visit last night and it was kind of weird actually, she wanted to see the wound so I let her and—"

But before Takeshi could finish his sentence, Romario and Reborn were already heading towards the door. The two of them almost bumped into Dino who had just entered Takeshi's room.

"The girl, sir," Romario explained as Reborn made way through the door. "We have reason to assume that it's her."

"What?" Dino exclaimed, following Reborn's steps.

_**o o o**_

Tsuna groaned slightly as he woke up with a slight headache. He dragged his heavy body out of bed. As he sat there at the edge, all the memories, everything that happened last night were rushing back into his head. He looked around and Reborn wasn't there. And rhen he recalled Bianchi saying something about Reborn being at the hospital with Dino-san.

Quickly, he took a shower, got dressed and skipped breakfast.

On his way out, he saw Bianchi supporting the meanest frown on her face. Paying no heed, he headed over to Kyoko's place; practically sprinting all the way. Soon, he arrived at their gates, catching his breath. He started at the golden plate engraved with the name, Sasagawa.

He suddenly realized how much nervous he was. This is, after all, his first time going to Kyoko's house – alone. His heart beat grew faster with every step he made closer to the door.

Softly, he placed his index finger on the bell. And then he took it off, contemplating on whether he should be there bothering their household at this time of hour. Deciding Haru as a proper reason, plus he really did want to see if Haru was alright, he placed his finger in the previous position again. Breaking a sweat, he took it off again.

He finally gathered up the courage to press the small when the door opened wide and there, standing in the door way with a scary face, shouting his name, was Ryohei.

"SAWADA!" he greeted.

Behind Ryohei, Tsuna caught sight of a dash of silver hair.

_Goku—_

"Tenth! Tenth! I was just… Uwaa! Get off me you stupid woman!"

_H-Haru?!_

"Tsuna-san!" Haru squealed turning her attention from Hayato, with a funny big smile and an even more frivolous energy than normal.

Haru practically dived for a hug, but Tsuna, without thinking clearly side-stepped away, making Haru land on her ass.

"Eh? Tsuna-kun? Good morning!" Kyoko greeted, apparently running after Haru. "Eh? Haru-chan? Why are you sitting there? It's dirty."

"What's going on?" Tsuna asked, clearly confused of the fast happenings.

"I'll explain to you, Tenth!" Hayato said, supposedly taking charge in making this clear for Tsuna. "I woke up to a beautiful day, and I was on my way to your place, Tenth, when suddenly Turf-head here decided it was better if I came over to his place. Of course I declined, Tenth, you know how much you mean to me, but he practically dragged me here. It's not that I can't take him down, but—"

"Uhm, Gokudera?" Tsuna interrupted, as he bent down to help Haru up at the same time. He knew Hayato wasn't going anywhere with his explanation.

"Heh! Octopus-head! I can explain better…" Ryohei scoffed. "It was a beautiful morning when I decided to run around the neighborhood for a healthy jog. I was probably on my seventh's EXTREME round when I saw Octopus-head here and—"

"Brother!" Kyoko intervened. "Ano, Tsuna-kun… Haru's is acting a little weird today…"

"Y-Yeah," Tsuna said. "I was wondering why she's still hanging on to my leg."

Kyoko's lips broke into a small yet captivating smile. "Ever since she woke up today, she seems very hyperactive. It's great that she's feeling better than yesterday but now, she seems very affectionate towards anybody she sees and it's a bit worrying."

"In any case, let's bring her to Dr. Shamal again. He might know what's going on," Kyoko continued, looking at Tsuna with a smaller yet more meaningful smile.

With a nervous gulp and a nod, he bent down to pick up Haru whose arms were still wrapped around Tsuna's leg.

"I'm coming with you, Tenth!" Hayato announced.

"Well, if Octopus-head's going, then I'm going too!" Ryohei said, pumping his fists in the air.

"Who you calling Octopus-head, Lawn-head?!" Hayato countered. "And no one invited you!"

Tsuna sighed. Somehow he knew it was going to be a long day.

_**o o o**_

"Wait! Wait! Reborn! You can't just barge in there! You'd wake the girl up!" Dino cried out, as he managed to stop Reborn from entering the room.

Reborn stopped just in front of the door, displayed a smirk, and then pushed the door open and disappearing behind it.

"Uwak! Reborn!" Dino said, breaking a sweat, pushing through the door.

A figure lay covered under the sheets, loud snores came from it.

"Uhm, for a girl, she snores like a man," Dino said, "and how many blankets is she wearing?"

"So? Shall I wake her up?" Romario asked the moment the join them in the room.

"Romario? Where the guy who's supposed to be looking over her?" Dino asked, as he looked around the room.

"Maybe he went out to get some coffee," Romario suggested.

"How are we going to do this?" Dino asked.

"The usual way," Reborn answered with a sly smirk.

With a flash the little guy jumped on the bed and pulled the sheets away only to reveal something they didn't really expect to see. They were expecting to find a girl, but instead, they found a man who was snoring ever so soundly, sleeping so peacefully.

Romario immediately walked by the bed and smacked the poor man awake. With a loud and rather disturbing snort, he sat upright in a fright.

"What are you doing? Where's the girl?!" Dino demanded. "And where the heck are your clothes?"

"Wha—" the man uttered, adjusting his sight from his boss to the little guy on his lap. "Oh shit."

"Oh shit is right if you don't starting explaining now," Reborn threatened.

"EEE! It's not my fault!" The man stammered. "I did give her my shirt, she wanted it she said. And I knew I shouldn't but somehow I did. I don't know! I— She— I don't know…" He hung his head in shame as he gave up explaining.

Bianchi suddenly burst into the room and the atmosphere suddenly because dangerously still and gloomy. Her hair was wild around her rather pink face and she was breathing hard.

"Where is she, Reborn?" Bianchi asked immediately, as she searched the room. So far she could only see one healthy half-naked man on the bed, Reborn standing on his lap, Romario by the side of the bed and Dino, posing with distress by the foot of it.

"There, well, there seems to be a problem, Bianchi…" Dino squeaked. This is the Poison Scorpion he was talking to after all, and it does not seem she's amused with his answer.

"We will need to find her first," Reborn sighed.

_**o o o**_

Practically dragging her legs through an unoccupied park, she rested on a worn-out green bench. She was tired, sleepy and hungry. Wearing a men's shirt, a couple of sizes too big which covered her just fine, she raised her legs to hug her knees. She shivered slightly; the weather was a bit cruel today. She bit her lower lip as her hands massaged the soles of her feet to help ease the pain. It was black as soot from the dirt, she had been after all walking barefoot and this is the only time she stopped for a rest since the break of dawn.

She fought back some tears as she dug her teeth deeper into her lips. _It hurts… My chest hurts…_ Clenching her shirt, she rested her head on her knees.

_They were nice to me and I betrayed them…_

She lost the battle and like a waterfall, the tears flowed steadily.

_They helped me… And I get them hurt…_

She rocked herself as if it brought some comfort.

_Especially him… He… He came back for me… And I got him hurt…_

Wiping the tears away, she sat upright with determination.

_And this is why I escaped…_

She drew in sharp breath as she positioned her feet on the ground – it stung. Deciding a little rest could do no harm, she laid on her side soon drifting off to a short nap.

* * *

**Author's Little Ramblings**

…gasp… That was a quick 201. (T T) I am not satisfied! I just read 202 and I'm even more disappointed. (T T) And homaigatz! 203 came up and this chapter isn't out yet. (--") So sorry for the late update and so sorry that it's slightly short! I hope this won't turn you off! (--")

Oh well, uhm, a started a FanComic. lol. Yeah. It's a GokuHaru fancomic based on a true fanfic by DongBangShingi. If you want to check it out, I linked it at my profile page, so feel free to (cough) comment. Hehe.

The usual, **please review**, even if you don't like it. You may complain or compliment. Just tell me what you think. It would certainly help me with the flow of this story and make my day.

A big **THANK YOU** to R3DR, Panda Poo, kittywitty, kuro.shi.ame, Green Apple, moogle in paradaisu, who've reviewed chapter 14. Domo arigato. I LOVE YOU GUYS! Hehe.


	16. Target 16 : Operation Retract

**DISCLAIMER**

I do not claim to have created or owned Katekyo Hitman Reborn and its characters.

Although, I wished I owned Yamamoto Takeshi. HOTNESS!

I do claim to have created my own characters and this fan_girl_fiction.

* * *

- Target 16 -

Operation Retract

* * *

"RRAAHH! That stupid pervert isn't here!" Hayato growled.

The five of them were standing in front of the school's infirmary. They tried opening the door but it was locked shut and there was really no one around – it is after all, the weekend.

"And for the last time, will you stop hogging my leg!" Hayato almost screamed. His patience was wearing thin; but he has to endure this if he wants to stay by Tsuna's side. He really doesn't understand how his boss could stand the company of these mere mediocre people. They were annoying and all they seem to do is get on his nerves. _Especially this stupid woman who's hanging on to my leg!_

"So what do we do now?" Kyoko asked, as she helped Haru get on her feet. "By the way Haru-chan, you're making Gokudera-kun uncomfortable."

"But I feel like hugging him!" Haru giggled. "I think I'll go hug Kyoko-chan's brother now!"

"Oh-ho! If you can catch me that is!" Ryohei roared gleefully. "I'll run to the EXTREME!"

"Eh? Big brother! Haru!" Kyoko called out as she watched the two of them start to sprint out of school.

She giggled.

_KYAA! Kyoko-chan is so cute! _Tsuna thought as he eyed her.

"I guess, that can't be helped," she said, as she grabbed Tsuna's hand.

He could feel his jaw drop as Kyoko's soft hand slid to and fitted perfectly in his palm. His heart beat raced so hard, he was afraid Kyoko could actually hear it.

"Come on, Tsuna-kun!" He could hear Kyoko talking out to him but somehow his brain isn't responding. _Move… Move. MOVE!_

Kyoko pulled him gently and as if on queue, his legs moved automatically. She giggled. _She's so cute! Heaven…_

Hayato was left with no choice but to follow their stupid, and not forgetting to add, idiotic race. With a growl, he walked sullenly behind them all.

Soon, they reached an old but working hospital. It was the same place where Lambo was admitted, not too long ago. Dino had prepared everything for them during that battle and now they're back here again.

_I wonder if this is a bad sign, _Tsuna thought as he stood in front of the entrance. _To be back here again…_ _Kyoko-chan had suggested coming here and visiting Lia-san and Yamamoto. Plus, maybe Dino-san could help with Haru's weird fixation._

His thoughts shifted to Kyoko. Haru had her arms wrapped around Kyoko's slender waist, hugging her tight. _It would be nice to be Haru at the moment_, he drooled.

Kyoko caught his odd stare, and replied with a wink and a cute grin. With a nod, and Haru tightly by her side, the both of them disappeared through the glass doors.

With their signature growl and roar, both Hayato and Ryohei walked through the entrance.

Tsuna waited a while, trying to ease the apprehension that he's been feeling.

"Tenth? Are you feeling alright?" Hayato asked, his head popping out.

"Y-Yeah," Tsuna nodded and disappeared behind the doors himself.

Inside, it didn't look like a hospital at all. It looked like a mafia hideout, especially with all the well dressed men suddenly silenced and frozen by their presences. If looks could kill, they'd probably be dead by now. Kyoko and Haru clung onto Tsuna, as Ryohei and Hayato took front. Their stares were almost lethal.

"Hello, Vongola's Tenth!" one of them greeted, suddenly realizing the boy who was cowering behind two much bigger friends. "How may we be of assistance?"

And suddenly the atmosphere lit up; footsteps and voices suddenly filled up the room as they all got back to what they were doing before the kids entered,

"Uhm, hello, ah, we're here to see our friend, Yamamoto," Tsuna replied as he let out a breath of relief.

"Ah, that's expected," the man nodded thoughtfully. "A good boss is what you'll be, Vongola's Tenth. Anyway, he's at the first floor, the second room from the right."

"Of-course, the Tenth will make a great mafia boss!" Hayato announced smugly.

"Eh?! Gokudera-kun! Don't say such things!," Tsuna replied nervously. _Kyoko-chan and Haru doesn't know about these things… Plus, I never decided I want to be a mafia boss!_

_**o o o**_

"What kind of security do you own here, Dino?" Bianchi spat silently.

"Uhm, you see, I, uhm," was all Dino could stammer. Bianchi's anger was overwhelming. To even think straight needs much strength.

"This just proves it, don't you think?" Reborn intervened.

"This only proves how Dino's men can be so careless!" Bianchi replied, with a huff. "What makes you so sure that it is her, Reborn?" As she asked, the tone of her voice grew softer, more solemn. Her eyes avoided other and stared directly on the ground.

"Why don't you ask Yamamoto yourself?" Reborn suggested, pointing over her shoulders.

As she turned around, there stood Takeshi, Tsuna and the rest with dumbfounded looks plastered on their faces – well, except for Haru who was smiling broadly.

It wasn't long before Hayato was on the ground, twitching and making an odd gurgling sound.

"Yamamoto, what did you do to her?" Bianchi hissed directly at the innocent boy.

"Tell her what happened last night, Yamamoto," Reborn instructed.

"Eh? It wasn't such a big deal really," Takeshi started with a scratch on the head. "She just came to visit me last night, that's all. Oh and that she wanted to look at my wound. But I'm fine, magically it has healed overnight."

"What is going on?" Tsuna couldn't help but ask. It had been way too weird with everything going on lately.

"Uhm, since we're on the point of asking questions," Dino added. "Why is Haru hugging me?"

Kyoko giggled nervously, as she began to peel Haru of Dino's arm. "She seemed to become more affectionate after she woke up this morning." Kyoko explained, only when Haru was safely secured with her.

Bianchi let out a long and frustrated sigh. "This is no doubt that no-good Shamal's doing."

"What do you mean?" Tsuna timidly asked. Bianchi is obviously not in a very good mood at the moment and the only person sane enough to annoy her would have to be suicidal.

Bianchi let out another frustrated sigh, but this time there was an obvious hint of a growl. She fished pants and pulled out a candy. "I am in no mood to explain, but here, Haru, eat this."

Eagerly, Haru accepted it and shoved the unwrapped candy in her mouth. Bianchi caught Haru in time before her face came in contact with the tiled floor. Before any of them could even utter a word of protest or questions, Bianchi secured Haru in Romario's grip.

"Romario, find her a room and let her sleep it off," she instructed.

"Bianchi-san…" Kyoko's voiced trailed.

"Don't worry…" Bianchi replied, this time her voice strained softly. "She'll be fine. But if it's alright, could you wait for her until she wakes up?"

Kyoko nodded determinedly and followed Romario and Haru out of the room.

Bianchi sighed heavily before putting on a goggle to obstruct her face. "Come on now, Hayato! I've covered my face. Will you just get up now?"

She was irritated and it was obvious.

With Ryohei's help, Hayato struggled to stand up.

"Find her," Bianchi order through gritted teeth.

"You heard the woman," Dino replied silently. "Let's go."

"Dino, find her," Bianchi added. "But don't harm her."

With a nod, Dino signaled them to follow him out of the room leaving Bianchi and Reborn behind.

Even with the door separating them from the two, the dark aura was still lingering there. Tsuna looked from Dino, who was intently studying the floor to Takeshi, who had displayed a blank expression. He was confused and curious. He wanted to know more; to know what was going on – to be able to understand the current situation.

Tsuna cleared his throat. "Uhm, Dino-san… What's going on?"

Still staring at his moving feet, Dino didn't reply. And Tsuna thought it was best to keep quiet for a while. His eyes moved from the weakened Hayato struggling to free himself from Ryohei's help and back to Dino's feet. He doesn't know where they were going, but were only told to follow. And that's what they're doing – following Dino's steps.

They stopped back at the lobby where Romario was waiting.

"Romario, can you gather a handful of men to help find the girl?" Dino asked.

"Already done," Romario nodded.

Tsuna noticed a couple of men grouping around the area.

"Thanks," Dino sighed gratefully.

He then turned his attention to the young Vongola men.

"I could explain about everything, but I don't think it's in my right to say," Dino started. "For now, we need to find the girl. We will split up; I believe it would make the search faster. Now, Yamamoto, do you want to rest or join in the search?"

"I'm in," Takeshi replied. "I'm fine. I… I'm in."

"Why is this girl so important?!" Hayato insisted, appearing to look a little better.

"Well, Hayato, if you want to know the whole story, we're going to have to capture her first," Dino replied. "Else, you'll never know, now will you?"

Hayato grunted in annoyance.

"Alright! Let's look for her to the EXTREME!" Ryohei cheered.

"Urgh! Don't be so noisy, LAWN-HEAD!" Hayato countered.

Tsuna smiled; even Dino and Romario tried to hide a creeping grin. Magically, the silly argument between the two lightened up their situation. Sure, they were a joke and probably look idiotic, but for today, it worked.

He looked at Takeshi, knowing he'd see his usual silly grin, but it wasn't there. There was a grin, true, but it looked as if he forced it. It was stiff and uncomfortable.

"Alright, enough." Dino shushed them. "We're wasting time! And I really don't want to deal with Bianchi in this kind of mood."

With an irritated grumble Dino continued, "According to my man, she was last seen wearing an oversized white shirt. We'll meet back here by six in the evening."

"We'll do our best," Tsuna offered.

"Yeah, find her…" Dino smiled, copying Bianchi's exact words. "But don't harm her. Not for now, at least."

_**o o o**_

"It's quiet", she murmured to herself. "Well, hospitals are usually quiet, then again."

Kyoko sighed as she sat in a chair placed beside Haru's hospital bed. She placed her delicate hand on Haru's.

Romario had left the two girls alone, adding wonder to what's going on. For now all she knew was that Lia was nowhere to find and Takeshi is well. Oddly enough, that should be good new, but it didn't sit well with any of them.

Giving Haru's hand a frim squeeze, she prayed. "Please let them be OK…"

_**o o o**_

The weather seems fine, and it was the weekend; a nice day for an outdoor studying activity. With his messenger bag secured by his hips, he walked to the only place he could call his sanctuary. It was an abandoned old park and thick wild greenery had reigned over it.

He stepped his way to his usual studying place; a green worn-out wooden bench. He knew it by memory how the colors faded as rain washed it away. He remembered every indentation and scratch made by harsh weathers and well, by human wear.

And sure, normally there would be a couple of homeless people wandering about here. Looking for leftover food that some people usually mistaken the mediocre landing for a rubbish dump. There are the occasional teenagers who prefer an abandoned old park for their inappropriate activities.

Today, there was a girl. He wasn't sure if she was homeless or she had just had a dose of loving and decided to have a nap. She was wearing a shirt that didn't look as if it belonged to her. He blushed when he realized she didn't have anything pants or skirt. He looked around to find a man, expecting him to come out from a bush. _The partner could still be here, taking a leak, _he thought.

_But what if she had been… after… left… alone and unconscious of everything…_ He thoughts trailed to the unimaginable. He shivered his hideous thoughts away. He step closer to her, he made the effort to be loud; but still she didn't wake up.

As he approached closer, he realized who she was. His walk broke into a sprint. Her feet were dirty, he grew more worried. He gave her a little shove at her shoulder.

He took a step backwards as she suddenly sat up straight. Her messy hair was wild around her face, her eyes were wide with fear and her lips were wide apart, letting out a sharp gasp.

"Uhm, you… are you OK?" he asked softly.

She stood up, and the sudden movement made her groan, gripping where he had shoved her.

"I… I…" she stuttered, pushing him away.

He stopped her from trying to run away. She wasn't mentally stable, he could tell. And her shoulder seems to hurt.

Persistently, she pulled away. "No! I don't want… hospital… no…"

"I'm not going to hurt you," he said softly. "I want to help."

He could see the grey of her eyes rolled back and he swore as she slumped to the ground. "Oh shit."

* * *

**Author's Little Ramblings**

WHOA, NELLY! 205 is SO INTENSE! It's like OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD! OHMYGOD! This is the first time I see Hibari in a rather different light. Grr!

The usual, **please review**, even if you don't like it. You may complain or compliment. Just tell me what you think. It would certainly help me with the flow of this story and make my day.

A big **THANK YOU** to my respected reviewers! Domo arigato. I LOVE YOU GUYS! Hehe. You were the motivated behind this chapter. And I'm sorry the update is very behind date. It's just that, the real world has caught up to me. A couple of shitty things happened but I'm OK now. So, please, keep on supporting me. Domo.


	17. Target 17 : Stalled Op

**DISCLAIMER**

I do not claim to have created or owned Katekyo Hitman Reborn and its characters.

Although, I wished I owned Yamamoto Takeshi. HOTNESS!

I do claim to have created my own characters and this fan_girl_fiction.

* * *

- Target 17 -

Stalled Op

* * *

He felt like he was trapped in an over dramatic movie, as he stared at the tall blades of grass outlined the girl that lay on the ground. But he was no the hero in this picture, for if he was, he would have thought of a dramatic yet heroic and probably even noble solution for this current situation. But simply, for a second, he blanked out and stared - he had no idea on what had happen or what he needs to do next.

He knew though, that he should do the first thing that came to his mind when she fell – to get her proper medical attention. But since she had previously denied, and that he believed the word 'hospital' itself was what caused her to go into a nervous breakdown, he decided to not go ahead with it.

Moisture seeped up his jeans through his knees as it made contact with the soft earth. Kneeling next to her, he knew he had to do something and soon.

He raised a hand, and reached out for her face; giving her smudgy cheeks gentle slaps.

He waited; nothing.

He repeated again and waited some more; still nothing.

He shook her, quite violently this time; thinking a little roughness would do well but alas, still nothing.

He looked around, hoping that someone would pass by; at least they could take care of this better than him. But none were around. And he couldn't just leave her there. He knew no one in their right mind would do something so selfish.

And he knew that he going to regret his next options, he knew it was a huge mistake but nevertheless, the heaved her into his arms and carried her away from there.

**o&o**

His breath was obviously heavy and agitated. His face, it looked annoyed and worried all at the same time. It had been almost two hours and they haven't stopped asking or calling out her name.

Tsuna looked at his friend. He didn't look like the normal Yamamoto Takeshi – the boy with the carefree attitude he knew. But Tsuna couldn't really blame him. People are making it look as if he was the reason for the Lia's disappearance.

"Yamamoto, how are you feeling?" Tsuna asked softly.

He didn't reply.

"It is almost six now, we really should be heading back to the hospital now," Tsuna continued.

Takeshi looked at Tsuna with a cold stare, but then immediately softened up. "I just... I don't think we've looked long enough."

"I know," Tsuna sighed. "But maybe Gokudera-kun and Kyoko's brother might have found her. There's still hope with Dino-san and his men."

Takeshi managed to display a small smile. "Yeah, you might be right."

The sky grew orange with pink swirls decorating against the dark blue. They haven't even walked two steps when an old woman approached them.

"Did you lose something?" she croaked with strong voice but a rather weak smile.

"Hello ma'am," Takeshi greeted politely. "We're looking for a friend of ours."

"A girl," Tsuna helped. "She might have wandered here. She was last seen wearing a white big shirt."

"Oh?" the old woman replied with a little squint. "What does she look like?

"Uhm, she had dark hair..." Tsuna offered.

"Oh, I'm sorry. I don't recall seeing anyone like that today," she said, shaking her head.

"Ah, that's okay," Takeshi smiled.

The old woman sighed. "I'm always around this neighborhood. And today, there were a lot of odd people. There was two young men, about your age, earlier. They both had light whitish hair. They were too noisy, always arguing with one another. I felt like giving them a smack on their heads."

_That must have been Gokudera-kun and Kyoko-chan's brother_, Tsuna thought. _So they've been here earlier._

"And some young ones nowadays just don't have manners!" the old woman started ranting. "There was a couple and the boy had a girl in his arms. It was outrageous! She wasn't even wearing anything to cover her legs – just a big shirt! Oh, the scandal!

"W-What?" Tsuna stuttered.

"I know! Unbelievable, isn't it!" the old woman nodded. "I hope you boys are not like that. You don't seem like those type of boys anyway."

"Where did they go?" Takeshi demanded almost immediately.

"Eh? I don't know. Why do I want to know!" the old woman shot back.

"Please," Tsuna pleaded. "The girl, she could be our friend that we were looking for."

"I don't know," she replied waving them off. "I tell you, a girl like that would only bring you boys no good."

Without hesitation, the old woman mumbled as she walked away – leaving Tsuna and Takeshi to their desperation.

**o&o**

He lived in a beat-up apartment, a little farther away from the busiest part of town. The rent was really cheap, and that was only what he could afford. It was quiet, and it was no surprise for he lived alone. Hauling her all the way back home was more than he could handle. And for the first time, he was actually glad his place was small. It didn't take him long to get to the bedroom.

He loosened his grip from the round of her arm and with a heavy grunt, he heaved her down. Her head bounced on his thin, worn out pillow, but it didn't seem to pull her out from the spell.

His sigh laced with regret as he wondered what he has got himself into. _This is troublesome, certainly something I can not afford right now._

Kneeling by the bed, he stared and for a moment, a thought to try to clean her up ran though his mind. Shaking his head furiously, he stood up and tucked her in instead.

He sat in a corner, with a book in hand as he waited for something – for anything.

**o&o**

"For all we know she could be taken by whoever it was that wanted to hurt us," Takeshi offered quietly. He sat on his bed, his legs folded, with the new green colored sheets reeking with that very strong clean smell. His fists crumpled the previously pressed sheets. He was annoyed, angry, and even unsatisfied, but he conveyed it all to his fists.

It was hours later, and they had gained nothing. They all gathered around in Takeshi's room, thinking to what to do next.

Hayata leaned against a wall, keeping his distance far, far away from his half-sister.

"Yeah, well, for all we know she could one of them," Hayate scoffed. "I think you're all blinded by this charade. It's bullshit. Ever since she came here, everyone's hurt. Come on! Wake up and smell the stink from this shit"

"We don't know anything for sure yet, Takohead!" Ryohei rebutted. He on the other hand stood next to a very agitated Bianchi. The room was small, he had no choice.

Tsuna who stood by Takeshi's bedside sighed. _Things were going so well_, he thought.

"I am sick of this," Bianchi said exasperatedly, her temper getting the better of her. "You people are so unreliable! No nothing? Not even a sign or a clue!"

The other remained quite, even Dino knew when to shut up.

Tsuna shot a hand up, but ever so slowly; as if asking permission to speak out.

"What is it, Tsuna?" Reborn asked.

"Uhm," Tsuna squeaked, as he dug deeper for his normal voice. "We did come across an old woman, who might have seen her." As no one dared to object, she stormed out of the room.

Dino nodded in encouragement. Tsuna had told him earlier, but apparently this information had not been shared with Bianchi, until now.

"And?" Bianchi persisted, taking a swift and eager step towards Tsuna.

Tsuna practically jumped a step backwards in fright. When he tried to answer Bianchi, he realised he lost his voice again.

"And nothing..." Dino helped. "Apparently, she old woman refused to answer anymore questions. Plus, the old woman could be senile so this information is not as reliable as it could be. Or maybe it is, but we just don't know for sure yet."

Bianchi made a sound almost like an angry cat. Her eyes were filled with fury that Hayato almost fainted.

Without another word, Bianchi stormed out of the room; leaving them all in a state of relief.

"That's much better," Hayato commented thankfully.

"So what do we do now, Reborn?" Dino asked the silent little one who was sitting at the foot of Takeshi's bed..

"Just let it be," Reborn said simply.

"What?" Tsuna asked, wondering if he had heard him right.

"I'm sure you're not deaf. I said, for now, we'll let it be."

**o&o**

The moment she lifted her eye lids, all she could see was a blur of white. A soft groan escaped her dry, pale lips as she summoned her strength to heave herself up. Still at the loss of words, she examined around. Still, she sat on an unfamiliar bed, covered with unfamiliar sheets, in a very unfamiliar room.

Her heart began to race. _Was I caught?_ She panicked. Hastily, she scrambled out of bed. She tried to balance herself, as what's left of her blood shot up too fast, causing her to feel dizzy and weak. She tried pulling hard on her hair for comfort but alas it was too overwhelming and she sink to the floor.

She heard footsteps – hurried footsteps. With her legs still wobbly, she forced herself to stand up.

_If only I can get to the door, I can escape._ And she was almost at the bedroom door when a tall looming figure obstructed her way.

He was saying something with his hands reach outwards towards her, but she couldn't hear him clearly. She forced her brain to process this, but alas it was a no go. Her brain, like a plain white uncrumpled paper, was blank. As her eyes leaked, her ears covered, and her voice shrilled; she backed away. His hands were waving madly, trying to catch her.

His frustrations grew, she noticed. And she knew she made a mistake – she shouldn't have noticed then she wouldn't have stopped moving like fish out of water. Both of his hands grasp tightly around her wrist, pulling it away from her ears.

"Hey. Hey! HEY! What are you doing!" he cried out. "Are you OK? Are you hurting? Do you know the current situation that you are in?"

She stopped and stared. For quite a while she did nothing but stared. _He... He doesn't feel threatening..._

He loosed his grip slowly as he felt her muscles loosened up. Gently he scouted her back towards the bed, and obediently, she sat down.

"Wait here," he ordered softly. "Don't try to get up. You'll only hurt yourself more. I won't hurt you. Trust me. Okay? I'm going to get you something warm to drink."

He disappeared for a moment and then came back with a navy colored mug in his hand.

She smiled with gratitude as he handed it to her.

"Careful, it's a bit hot," he warned, sitting back in the corner.

In silence, she blew at the mouth of the mug. Steam floated up to her face as she took a quick sip.

"I know you," he said suddenly – looking up towards her.

Her head shot up, and her eyes went big. In horror or in anger or in confusion, he didn't know.

"Well, I don't 'know you' know you," he explained. "I saw you in school, Namimori High? I go there too. I doubt you've seen me, 'cause we don't belong to the same class."

She nodded, well; more like swayed her head slowly.

"So, uhm, I know it's none of my business but do you mind tell me what happened to you?" he asked.

She froze; her eyes transfixed on the plain floor.

"I'm sorry, I was being too blunt," he continued with an apology when he saw her immediate reaction. "Let's start from the basic; my name is Nagakawa Atsuki."

She thought about it for a moment, thinking whether she should be polite and reply or do him a big favor and not tell him anything at all.

"Heh," he sighed, pulling himself up from the floor. "Sorry again, I didn't mean to intrude. Anyway, I know you'd want to go home soon, so I'll uh, I'll get you some fresh clothes and you can be on your way."

He pulled the on the door knob, and was half way closing the door; when she said, "No! Don't! My name... My name is Lia. Just... call me Lia."

**

* * *

Author's Little Ramblings**

Sorry. For the late update.

The usual, **please review**, even if you don't like it. You may criticize or compliment. Just tell me what you think. It would certainly help me with the flow of this story and make my day.


	18. Target 18 : Stalled Op 2

**DISCLAIMER**

I do not claim to have created or owned Katekyo Hitman Reborn.

I do however; claim to have created this fan_girl_fiction marysueish story.

* * *

**Target 18**

**Stalled Op 2**

The day grew dark fast as each and every one of them bid their farewells. They all went their own ways, following their own path home. Every single one of them longing for the peace and comfort of home sweet home. By the time everybody was safe at home, the clouds rumbled and rain began to pour. First, a light drizzle then steadily increased to a heavy downpour. The misty air floated around his room as he lay on the bed. He turned his head to see the rain hitting hard against the pavement. His remained quiet as he listened to the rhythm outside. He liked the tranquil atmosphere it provided, it helped clear his mind. He admits he couldn't help but feel guilty about how everything turned out to be. He hated the fact that he was careless, how he felt useless – he hated the fact that, basically, he had lost. His fingers ran at the back of his head. Earlier today, there was a wound but now, it has been healed and obviously gone. And for some reason, the others felt that Lia had something to do with it.

The thunder growled even louder and the rain, worse. Suddenly, he's worry about her multiplied. Without giving it any thought, he got up and got into his clothes; grabbing his bag with his baseball bat inside, he walked out of his room. Slowly and silently, he walked to the door, unlocked it and slid it open.

"Where are you going, Takeshi?"

Startled, he turned. His father stood in the dark, his face grim.

"Uh, nowhere dad," Takeshi grinned sheepishly. "I just felt like going out for a breather".

"Incase you haven't noticed, this isn't exactly the type of weather to go out for a breather," his father said sternly. "Look, I might not know what is going on at this moment, but I do know that you're not actually going out for fresh air. And I know you're worried about something, I can see it in your face but sometimes you can't just act spontaneously – you need to think things clearly. "

The cold wind blew in and the time lingered on as he thought about what his father had said; he had to admit though, he was right.

"You are right, dad," Takeshi said, giving his father a soft pat on the shoulder before going back into his room. "You're right."

**Italy**

Back in Italy, Alvise paced back and forth, thinking about how he should break the news to his boss – and it wasn't good news at all. They have lost sight of her somehow, and the boss would not like it one bit. He stood still in front of the door, taking in deep breaths; bracing himself for whatever may come.

"You do realize that I can hear you from here," Tiziano called out from inside the room.

Alvise jumped, fixed his hair and knocked on the door. "Do excuse me, sir!"

"Yes, yes. Come in, come in," his boss said impatiently.

He turned on the knob and slowly peeked in before entering. Tiziano was at his desk, in his large, green-colored, leather office chair. The back of the chair was facing him and he could not even see the outline of his head but he could see his lit cigar wedged in between his fingers. He remained quiet which made Alvise panic a bit.

"Sir," he cleared his throat. "Dafne called and she was wondering what you wanna do next?"

"What is the situation?" Tiziano asked, still not turning to acknowledge his presence.

"The girl is currently under the Vongola's care," he explained. "Currently, she is being treated in a hospital and our eyes can not get nearer. They have quite strict security lead by the Carvallone family."

"And the Vongola Guardians?"

Alvise paused for a few seconds before clearing his throat again. "About that, sir, none of them dead yet. But Dafne did manage to get our message across."

Tiziano stood up, causing his right hand man to take a step back. He turned and put of his cigar in a golden ashtray that was on his desk. He shook his head and remained quiet for a while. He then slammed his fists abruptly which made Alvise wince in reflex. He took a very deep breath then smoothened out his suit. He steadied his eyes to his Alvise's and studied his face for quite a while.

"It's okay," he said finally.

Alvise let out the breath he had been holding.

"It's okay," he repeated. "We'll give her at least a week. Let's give her a chance, huh. After all, I took her in, and I could take her down if I wanted to."

Alvise was baffled. He looked at his boss as if expecting to hear him correctly himself. _I mean, why the hell do we have to give them a week_, he thought.

"Do we have a problem?" Tiziano asked in an annoyed manner.

"Of course not," Alvise said quickly. "I'll make sure everything goes as you planned."

"Good. Tell our men and Dafne to find her as soon as possible, or they will not like what I plan to do next."

**Japan**

Lia returned back to sleep after he had left her alone. Even when he woke up the next morning to get ready for school, she was still sound asleep in bed. Before leaving, he left her some breakfast. The sun was shining brightly today, as opposed to the weather last night. He went through the morning classes as usual but today, his mind was a bit preoccupied with something else - he did not know what to do next. He knew he could not afford to keep her for too long and he was sure someone would be worried that she's missing.

The lunch bell rang snapping him back to the classroom. His classmates eagerly packed up their books and pulled out their lunches, and instead he packed his things and left in a hurry. Soon he stood in front a huge door that labeled 'STAFFROOM'.

For quite a while he stood there, doing nothing but stare at the label. But as he was about to reach out for the doorknob , someone snapped up behind him. The hateful aura emitted from the person behind him was too strong that it literally made the hair on his back stand up.

"What are you doing here?" the voice demanded menacingly.

He stood frozen. What made matters worse was the voice; it was only too familiar. It belonged to someone no one in school dared mess up with – Kyoya Hibari – the leader of the Disciple Committee of Prefects.

Immediately he turned and backed up against the door. Other students that happened to be passing by or were near by disappeared, were now nowhere to be seen. He didn't like all the possibilities of what could have happen that his mind had so promptly conjured up. Instinctively, he tried to explain what he was doing there, but Hibari startled him off with his gleaming tonfas.

"I hate weaklings," Hibari barked, backing him up against the doors.

He had knocked his head against the door as he tried to distant himself from the delinquent; but not one person came out to see what was going on. He doubt there were teachers who actually dared to oppose him.

"I'll bite you to death if you do not disappear from my sight!"

He didn't need to be told twice, in a flash he was out of there. He only stopped running when he knew he was out of the carnivore's sight. As he catches his breath; he saw a group of rather gloomy looking students walking at the end of the hall way, up the stairs that went to the roof. He recognized the shortest boy amongst them all – the brow haired school loser. Surrounding him was his usual cronies; there's the school's star player, the punk with enough jewelry that he could actually open a small jewelry store, the most popular girl in school, her best friend and her boxing obsessed older brother.

"Lucky!" he said, his breathing slowly going back to a normal pace. He had seen Lia spending time with them quite lately and he considered voicing his concerns to them. They seem to be friends; they should want to know that she's currently sleeping in his home. _It should be okay_, he thought.

**xx**

Side by side they walked to the end of the rooftop and settled down at their usual spot. Since early this morning, not one of them exchanged more than a sentence or two. Quietly, they sat themselves comfortably. Ryohei opted to lean against the railing; Takeshi followed suit too - the rest sat on the cement flooring. Kyoko settled in front of Tsuna and next to Hana. Gokudera was, as usually, close by his boss.

"Haru's doing better today," Kyoko said, trying to lighten up the current situation. She untied the pale pink cloth that protected her bento.

"Really?" Tsuna looked up from his lunch. He really wasn't feeling hungry but Mama had gone through the trouble so it was only polite to finish it up.

"Mhmm," Kyoko grinned with a mouthful. She chewed quickly before continuing, "She called me this morning, before school. She said she's feeling fine but still needs to rest some more."

Ryohei took a rather huge bite of his lunch before agreeing. "That's good to hear."

"Yeah," Tsuna agreed. "I'm glad that she is all right."

"What's happened to Miura-san?" Hana asked curiously, suddenly inviting herself in their conversation.

"Oh!" Kyoko gasped, quite forgetting that Reborn had asked them not to talk to anyone about the events that happened two days ago. "It was just that Haru-chan was feeling a little under the weather lately". She added quickly, grinning at Hana.

Hana studied her best friend's face; she knew Kyoko was lying. The grin seemed too happy. She look from Ryohei to Takeshi, then Tsuna to Gokudera, and finally back to Kyoko.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys today?" Hana exclaimed. "You're all so quite and dull! The whole dancing thing beat the hell out of you guys huh?" She dug her bento with her wooden chopsticks as she nodded, believing her own theory.

"OH!" Kyoko gasped again, and again quite forgetting about the whole bet and dance.

Tsuna, too, looked up from his bento when Hana mentioned the word 'dance'.He couldn't blame Kyoko for forgetting, it wasn't even in his mind. But he couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. At this rate they should be looking for other backup dancers or the show will definitely be canceled. They still haven't found Lia, and Dino and his men are still looking for her as of this moment. And with the whole situation, there would be anymore dancing with Kyoko or even having to spend time with her at the amusement park.

"What's with the 'OH"?" Hana questioned again, looking at her even more curiously.

"Haha," Kyoko giggled. "I forgot that we had a bet going on – about who can master the dance first and who would be last."

"Ah," Hana said, continuing eating her lunch. "I'm sorry you had to end up with Tsuna then," she added quietly.

"What does that suppose to mean?" Tsuna cried out defensively.

"Yeah!" Gokudera growled protectively. "If anyone's gonna win, it's going to be the tenth!"

"Yeah, yeah!" Hana dismissed him with a wave, while she continued to finish what's left of her lunch.

After she was done, she looked at Kyoko who was finishing up as well and asked, "I'm going to go to the library for a while, since there is still time. Do you wanna come along?"

Kyoko looked at the boys, and could feel the dispirited aura trying to drown them. She knew Hana could feel the intensity because she had finished her lunch rather quickly and even wanted to get away from them as soon as she can.

"Yeah, okay!" Kyoko agreed, packing her lunch box as well. She thought that maybe the boys would like their own time alone, to talk about things.

"Good," Hana said standing up. "You boys have fun," she said rather sarcastically as she helped Kyoko up; and with that the both of them left.

"How are you feeling?" Ryohei asked patting Takeshi on the shoulder.

Takeshi had remained quite today, giving them the occasional grin once in a while. But apart from that, he looked as if something was occupying his mind. He looked unsettled if not unhappy. So when he leaned against the railing and stared straight onto the horizon, they knew his mind had wandered away.

His shoulders jumped slightly when Ryohei patted it, and his thoughts quickly came rushing back into his head.

"Ahaha," he laughed, turning now to face his friends. With his hand unawarely scratching the back of his head, he nodded. "Sorry. Yeah – I'm fine."

"Are you not eating, Yamamoto?" Tsuna asked, worriedly.

"Eh? Nah, I'm not really that hungry," Takeshi grinned. "Don't worry about me; I had a rather huge breakfast today."

"Okay then," Ryohei announced. "I'd better be leaving too. I wanna go hit the boxing area while there is still time."

"Not just yet," someone said.

"Eh?"

"Reborn!" Tsuna called out, looking at the toddler who seemed to have magically appeared from nowhere.

"Sis!" Hayato dropped, twitching at the floor like a swatted fly.

Behind Reborn was Bianchi sans her goggles; and behind Bianchi was a male Namimori student who he had never seen before. He looked as he could faint any minute, and his spectacles were a little bit lopsided. Tsuna suddenly felt sorry for the guy. He couldn't help but think that the dynamic duo had something to do with it.

"We have her location," Reborn grinned.

"You have?!" Takeshi said, suddenly springing forward. "Where?"

On cue, Bianchi pushed the rather distorted student in the middle of everyone.

"U-uh," he stuttered, raising his hand rather slowly. "She's... She's with me."

"What?" Tsuna practically shouted. "How!"

"He'll tell you all about it," Reborn said, jumping up to Bianchi's shoulders. Bianchi, Tsuna realised, seemed content, not ecstatic but she looked a little bit relieved. "But we have to hurry or she might be on the run again."

"I don't think she's in any condition to run," Ryohei said thoughtfully.

"Not for the time being," Atsuki agreed, carefully reaching out to fix his spectacles. "Plus I locked the door from the outside."

"You what?!"

"Uhm, it's not like she can't climb out a window," Takeshi said matter-of-factly.

"I don't have much windows," Atsuki replied smoothly. "And they're not huge windows. I don't live in a big place."

"Uhm, who are you again?" Tsuna asked, still trying to digest the new situation.

Nagakawa Atsuki looked at Tsuna and let out a sigh. He knew he should have just went up to them straight away and not linger, at least he wouldn't have to meet these two weirdos. It took him quite a while to pluck out the courage. He had to think about what he wanted to say, how to react to their reactions. He was already at the stairs, but when he heard girls talking, he ran down again and actually waited for them to be beyond eye-sight before going up again. And when he went up again, Reborn and Bianchi appeared behind him, climbing the stairs as well. Reborn had demanded the reason for his presence and when Atsuki told him that he was just at the wrong place, both of them used force to make him talk.

So when he introduced himself, and retold his story of yesterday; he could not help but feel like he was crazy for doing this. He honestly felt as if he was throwing himself into deep waters – as if he had a death wish.

* * *

**Ramblings**

?

Older Xanxus is HOT! Haha. But not as hot as Yamamoto Takeshi. Mhmm.


	19. Target 19 : Whoopsadaisy

**DISCLAIMER:**

_I do not claim to have created or to have owned Katekyo Hitman Reborn! either in anime or in manga._

_I do, however, claim to have created this fangirlfiction marysueish story._

**

* * *

TARGET 19: **_Whoopsadaisy_

**

* * *

**

The immense heat made it a tad hard for him to tell his part of the story. But they were surrounding him, like vultures hungry for fresh meat. He told the sorry about how he was at an old, overgrown park where he'd usually go and how he saw her on the bench. He told the story about how she looked dirty and how he though at first she was a hobo. He told them that he then had seen her a school. He paused for a moment to take a breather, but they urged him to go on – to hurry the hell up. He perspired more under their pressure, so he raced his words as fast as his voice could carry. He recalled about how he had found her, where he had found her. He recalled how frightened she was when she came through. He recalled how she slipped under once more when he told her he would take her to get medical attention.

"And why didn't you!" Someone amongst them said. He couldn't make out who, since he did not keep eye contact for more than a couple of seconds.

"She was scared!" Atsuki protested. "Plus, I was worried. There must be a reason why she didn't wanna get medical attention! She only had a slight fever, and so I took her home. Had anything gone wrong, of course, I would not hesitate to take her to a hospital."

It was at this point that Takeshi felt a sudden pang of guilt.

"Did she tell you why she did not want to go to a hospital?"

"No, and I didn't ask," Atsuki said sternly. "If she wants to let me know, then I will know, but not before she is ready. I am not once to force a woman to do anything against her will, so I will not force it out of her."

"Then why are you telling us this?"

He was slightly taken aback by the last question. Surely, this was not the right time to be asking wasteful questions. He felt like he was being interrogated, as if his intentions were not good. _This is bullshit,_ he thought. The fear and pressure he had felt earlier was now replaced with slight anger – he was very annoyed. He cleared his throat rather loudly and made himself very clear. "I am telling you this because I thought you were her friends."

...

It felt weird for him to be walking down the streets with his fellow schoolmates. Behind them were a couple of dangerous looking men the baby had round up. They were wearing crisp black suits; some armed with black suitcases and sleek black sunglasses and only one among them stood out. His was a handsome face, with a charming flair. Heads turned as they walked passed; they were definitely attracting too much attention. There were even a couple of girls from a different school wolf whistling. He was uncomfortable with that. He had never had this kind of attention before.

It was quite the walking distance, but they soon stopped a couple of blocks down an old, rather beat down house. It was a quiet place, far from Namimori town but the view was breathtaking. Mother Nature had surrounded the house with her blessing. Huge, luscious trees stood ever so protective and flowers danced along the melodic breeze. It looked as if they stepped into another time zone.

"Wow," Tsuna breathed. "The place is amazing."

"Thanks," Atsuki responded quickly. "The rental is a bit high, but not as expensive as the ones in town. Ah, but I like my privacy."

"The surrounding is in our favor," Reborn pointed out. "Tsuna, Gokudera, Yamamoto and Ryohei; you four will surround the house. Give her no more chance of escaping; and try not to give yourselves away."

"Got it!" Ryohei said, straining himself from voicing his enthusiasm out loud.

"Eh! Wait!" a man amongst them said, giving out 4 ear pieces but only one walkie talkie. . "Please use this; we will need to be in contact."

"Thanks!"

"Now, go!"

The four sprinted forward, leaving Atsuki bewildered. "W-wha?"

"You're coming with us," Reborn ordered. "Can you climb tress?"

"W-WHAT?"

And so it was; the rest had spread out and he was left with the baby and a handful of the others. Climbing up trees wasn't his specialty and they actually had to drag him up.

Atsuki looked at them in awed admiration. They were quite skillful, balancing themselves quite easily within the branches; even owning the latest gadgets in hand. They are not people to be taken lightly, he realized.

"Eye on the target," Romario announced; state of the art binoculars in hand.

"Uhm," Atsuki whispered, lying on his stomach. His arms and legs wrapped around a huge branch, clinging for dear life. "What are we doing?"

"We are going to bring her back," Reborn said, sitting on Atsuki's back pack which he had secured on like a saddle on a horse, surveying through the leaves.

"Uhm," he spoke again, "why are we up in a tree? Why must we spy? You can always just go up to the door and coax her back. No? And why am I here when the rest are down there?"

"No." Reborn said flatly, and said no more after that.

"No?" Atsuki raised his head up and looked at a young, golden haired man – the one who had that charming flair. Even in this rather humid atmosphere, he kept his thick jacket on.

Dino, realizing that he was looked at, sighed. "She'll run away."

"Why would she run away?" Atsuki asked, straining his neck even more.

Before Dino could reply, Reborn had smacked Atsuki's head with his binoculars. "Be quiet!"

And with that, he lowered his head and went back to looking at his house.

"Target ready," Romario suddenly announced. "Weapon at the ready!"

"W-Weapon?!" Atsuki protested, suddenly sweating more that he already has.

"Now!"

...

By the time she awoke from her slumber, the sun was not shining as brightly as she had expected it to be. She sat up and realized that the inside of the modest house was quite quiet. She could hear the chirping of birds from the outside though and how calm it had made her feel. She looked around and saw a small alarm clock that stood on top of a small table by the bed. The time showed that it was long past noon – she practically slept half way through the day.

"Oh my," the words floated out of her rather dry, pale lips. She ran her fingers through her hair and took in a very deep breath.

_He should be in school at this time, _she thought as she exhaled.

She had to admit; she had quite a good night sleep. It was deep and dreamless. But she had spoken much too soon. Sharply, she inhaled as the pain on her shoulder came rushing back to the extent that it went straight to her head. She laid her feet gingerly on the floor, got her balance and got out of bed. She studied her surrounding more intent than the day before. She walked to a small and rather old-looking mirror that was nailed to one of the wooden wall.

She looked and did not like what she saw. She was a mess – her face was ashen and her hair wild around her face. She looked like the way she were, before coming to Japan. Lifeless, and almost empty.

She looked around her again, and recalled how she ended up being here in the first place. As she continued to stare at her own reflection, her mind raced with thoughts.

Suddenly it stopped on one thing; the only reason for here to be here – the mission – to get the Vongola Guardian's rings and kill them. How the boss expected her to do it was beyond her knowledge. And there was only one thing why she agreed in the first place; her reward. Her past, her history long gone, will come back. There and then, she would really feel as if she was somebody. And it would've been an easy job if she had not grown fond of the Vongola Guardians. She had to admit, it had been long since she had people to talk to, to laugh with, to enjoy wasting time with.

To have people who cared.

The more she stared at herself, the more hatred engulfed her heart.

After taking a couple of second to recompose herself, she then pulled her shirt over her shoulder. A curse escaped her as the sight made her dwell in both anger and sorrow. She could feel the mixed feelings starting to choke her, she almost shed a tear.

She shook her head rather violently and tried to wave the issues off.

Her stitched up wound had been cleaned and dressed up the night before, but it looked as if it could use a new bandage today. It has been quite healed, but not quite there yet.

Pulling the shirt back up, she backed away from her disgusting reflection and went outside the room.

She was immediately greeted with the dinning room that was also the living room and the kitchen. On the low table, she saw a food cover and a note attached to it – it was from Atsuki. He wrote that he will be in school until the afternoon and had prepared her some breakfast. Curiously, she reached out for the food cover and unveiled chopsticks placed on the bowl of rice, a plate of fried eggs and some kind of meat, and empty upside down glass and a jug of water.

Her stomach was grumbling, telling her brain that she was hungry. Quickly, she put aside the note and sat on her heels. She grabbed the chopstick and the bowl and ravaged everything that was edible – within minutes, practically everything was gone.

She cleaned up the table and washed the dishes. Almost at once, her heart skipped a beat. She felt fear. She could feel something creeping up her spine. It was as strong as a killing intent, but not quite there. The aura was strong enough to make anyone realize their presence. And she knew there was someone out there; so near. Their thoughts all on her - she could feel it.

Then it happened all too quickly for her. She heard something cutting through the air, a swoosh; and not even a second later, she fell lifelessly on the floor.

...

His ear piece fell out of his hands. A 'whoops' was what he last heard from his held ear piece. A 'whoops' and Tsuna's eyes grew wide in horror. There she was, motionless on the floor – no movement, not even a twitch. Blood oozed, forming a little scarlet waterfall against her back. Everything went lightning fast – everything happened much too fast. Everything was at a still, and it was intoxicating. It felt as if the world raced with time and he could not physically cope with it. He could feel his heart pounding hard against his chest. Suddenly, he found it hard to breath.

He then looked at the two people across him. They, too, looked as if blood had been drained out of their body. They were both too shocked to move. And Tsuna could hear Ryohei and Takeshi's breath growing coarser, rougher. He turned to his right and saw Hayato's face, jammed in a confused look. He turned to look at Tsuna, blinked then looked at his other friends.

"What the hell happened," Tsuna spoke, through gritted teeth. "WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED!"

It was not in the plan that they had discussed earlier. Or was it? _Was this all Reborn's doing?! No! Impossible! This is some kind of mistake. A mistake... A MISTAKE!_

Hayato made a mumbled sound. He tried to say something, but nothing really came out. He wanted to comfort Tsuna, to say something to make it all better – but nothing. Ryohei had his fists curled, it shivered violently as his strength had no where to go. Takeshi still stood there, doing nothing, saying nothing.

...

"Oh my God!" Atksuki panicked. "WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU PEOPLE DOING!" he screamed. So loud that Reborn jumped away and a couple of birds actually flew away.

Without any hesitation, and without thinking clearly, he jumped down from the tree. It was quite a fall, but the soft ground broke it. Pain shot all over, he staggered a couple of times before find balance once more; but he couldn't care less. Wasting no more time than he already has, he grabbed his keys from his pocket and ran past the four boys he had met earlier. "What the hell are you doing! Why the hell are you doing NOTHING!" he screamed, as he carelessly fumbled with the key. His hands were too shaky and he was full of worry that he almost broke the lock.

Once inside, he ran up to her.

"Oh my God! Oh my God! Oh my God!" he chanted furiously as he stood by her lifeless body, and grabbing his hair with distress.

Behind him, Tsuna, Hayato, Takeshi and Ryohei followed suite.

And soon, Reborn, Dino and a couple of his men ran in.

"What the hell happened?" Tsuna shrieked at his tutor.

"Look, Tsuna," Dino tried to explain.

But he was cut off by Atsuki who was shrieking accusations towards them.

"Y-You!" he pointed at the nearest person which happened to be Tsuna. "Y-You were looking for her but you killed her! You lowlifes will rot in hell!" he cursed. "And I thought you were her FRIENDS!" he practically scream his last word.

"Will-" Dino tried again, this time obviously irritated.

"Oh my God!" Atsuki said in a manner, as if he just realized something important. "You're going to kill me too."

Reborn immediately pulled out his gun and aimed it at him.

"Reborn..." Tsuna treaded carefully. "NOOO!"

He had pulled the trigger.

**

* * *

**

**Ramblings:**

_Bleach Characters are off lately. They somehow look different now. Not as hot as I thought they were before. Is it me or Ichigo and his cronies look anorexic nowadays? Haha. And on a different note, Older Xanxus is turning me on. Uh-oh! Takeshi, baby? Might have to put you down for a moment. LOL. Just give me five minutes. Hehe. Okay. Nevermind. I just read the latest KHR chapter and now, I wanna have a bite of Mukuro. YUMMM! YUMMEEHH! KHR just keeps on getting better and better! LOVE IT!_


	20. Target 20 : In A Reverie

**The Scorpia Ludovica : A Dying Breed**

* * *

**DISCLAIMER:**

I do not claim to have created or to have owned Katekyo Hitman Reborn either in anime or in manga.

I do, however, claim to have created this fan_girl_fiction marysueish story.

* * *

**TARGET 20:** IN A REVERIE

* * *

It was as if the world suddenly moved slowly. He could see Reborn standing in front of him, pointing his gun at him. No emotion on Reborn's face could be traced. He had pulled the trigger, Atsuki realized and a long bang went off. The gun spat out a bullet and he could see it coming towards him. Every inch of his being is telling him to duck but it was useless, cause try as he might his body was numb - he could not move at all.

Atsuki swore he could hear his kneecaps crack as it slammed against the floor. His sight blurring to white and he seemed to focused on Tsuna, whose eyes were big as his own. He could feel the pain as his heart pound hard behind his ribs. He could hear it slow down – the slower the beat, the louder it became – it was agonizingly deafening. _This is it, _he thought and he surprised himself at how calm he was as his body finally came in contact with the floor. He could hear nothing but the slow rhythm of his failing heart. He saw Tsuna's lips move, but he can't seem to figure out what he was trying to say. He could see his face contort into anger. _Ah but it's too late_, Atsuki thought. _This is it. _

He knew for he could see nothing but white, soft fuzz and with one last loud breath, he became silent.

Tsuna could not believe it. How could Reborn have done the most atrocious thing of all? He knew he should not have been surprised but he couldn't help it. Tsuna tried to speak, but nothing could come out of his mouth. He was left there standing, gapping to Reborn, like fish out of water. He felt like a fish out of water, he found it hard to breath.

A comforting hand lay on his shoulder. Tsuna turned to see Dino looking down on him with small smile. Dino then quietly signaled his men to pick up Atsuki and Amari. His men left as swiftly as they came.

"Tsuna," Dino started, his hand still on Tsuna's shoulder. "Look, I know it is not easy now but you're gonna have to get used to it. This will be the norm."

"If this is the norm, then I don't wanna be a mafia!" Tsuna replied firmly, fighting back hot tears.

Gokudera almost let out an audible gasped.

Dino gave a pat before giving Reborn a sympathetic nod.

"Everything's going to be fine," Dino assured quietly. "You should know that by now."

"What's going to happen to them now?" Ryohei asked quietly.

"Dino's men will take care of them," Reborn replied. "I'll have the rest send you boys back to Tsuna's place".

"And make sure they go straight there," Dino instructed his men who had begun to round them out.

"Don't get side-tracked," Reborn said. "And tell Bianchi to give them some tea."

* * *

The walk home was agonizingly quiet. No one said anything to each other, eye contact was avoided. They were all trying to deal with the things that were going on in their mind. Bianchi was outside when they reached Tsuna's house. Bianchi looked at them wide eyed at their lackluster aura. But before Bianchi could ask, Dino's men immediately told her what she needed to know and what was instructed for her to do.

Bianchi, known for not taking orders from anyone, decided it was best to do what needs to be done so far. The instructions were from Reborn after all, she thought.

"Uhm," Takeshi voiced out. "If it is okay, I'm just gonna head straight home. Not feeling too well, see." He laughed lightly.

"Yamamoto", Bianchi replied. There was something in her tone of voice that was soothing, somewhat motherly. "I understand the need to go home right now but let me fix you some tea." She looked at the boys intently. "It has been a rough day and I don't mean to say that lightly; a cup of tea may not fix everything but it will help you settle."

She waited for a response from the boys but none came. There was neither protest nor any spoken word. She sighed softly, before she called out to Dino's men. "I'll take it from here."

The boys ushered themselves quietly inside Tsuna's house and into his room. Gokudera decided best to lean against a wall. Takeshi sat on Tsuna's bed and Ryohei joined Tsuna, legs crossed on the floor. Silence followed them like a lovesick pet but it was not long before Bianchi brought up cups of tea which she then set it up on Tsuna's table.

Each of them took one and stared at the rising steam as they cupped it in their hands.

"Drink up," Bianchi nudged, waiting by the door until they each took a sip.

And Bianchi was right, Tsuna realized. As the warm liquid streamed down his throat, he felt a warm, calming feeling engulf him. He sipped some more and enjoyed its effect. He could hear, Ryohei let out a content sigh.

Soon enough the four boys went into deep slumber.

"Well, that went pretty well," Bianchi said quietly, as she tucked them in with the sleeping mats and pillows she had brought earlier.

Already in his pajamas, Reborn sipped his cup of warm milk.

"Heh. You should see Tsuna's face when it all went down." Reborn replied. "I swear that boy has got a long way to go".

"You seem to have faith in him though," Bianchi pointed out.

"For now…"

"Guess you need your rest too, Reborn," Bianchi said, picking herself up and gave Reborn a kiss on his little forehead.

"Good night," and soon he was in his own little world, snoring mildly.

* * *

He woke up with a flight feeling coursing through him. He raised his eyelids carefully, and a migraine hit him instantaneously. He groaned audibly as he propped himself up. He was in bed and the sky was dark, he realized as he looked all around him. He got out of bed and went to the kitchen to get himself a glass of water – his throat felt really dry. He looked around with a puzzled look across his face – it was clean. Everything was spick and span, and in the right place. But a little bit too prim and proper.

Then, there it was. It hit him hard in the gut. He had flash backs of them - the girl, the schoolmates, the men in suits, the toddler, the gun! He pressed himself against the wall, eyes wide and tried hard to breathe. He raised his hands to feel his chest then his head. A cold sweat crept behind his back, he is alive. He is still alive! He let out a loud cry of relief and steadied himself. Was it all a dream, he wondered. The intensity, the drama, the gun… it all felt so real. He shuddered at the mere thought of him dying.

He grabbed a glass of water and propped himself by an open window. The sky was clear, the moon shined bright and the stars twinkled merrily at him.

"It was just a bad dream," he reassured himself out loud, the bad feelings washed away with every sip of cool water. "Just a bad dream…"

* * *

**Ramblings:**

I caught up with my life. It ran ahead a fair mile but I chased it back. Now I am trying to chase this back. This is one short chapter from me.


End file.
